


Clarity

by Likeitmatters



Series: The Chronicles of Kip and Lia [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Breeding, Comfort/Angst, F/F, Female-Centric, Girl Penis, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Post-Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-06-06 00:53:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 22
Words: 46,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6731062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Likeitmatters/pseuds/Likeitmatters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In post-apocalyptic America, Kip, an Alpha female must find an Omega female in order to help populate her dwindling colony.  When she wins a neighboring colony's strength and virility contest, she's gifted with her first choice of Omega females and chooses Lia, the one that captured her heart at first glance.  But when Lia is reluctant to leave everything she knows to be Kip's mate, will Kip be able to win her heart and show her how important she is to Kip's colony's destiny?  Or will Kip end up with a broken heart and an unfulfilled promise?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Spring Dance

**Author's Note:**

> My first time writing in this genre. The idea intrigued me so I thought I'd give it a go. I'm also a big fan of the post-apocalyptic genre, so... here goes.
> 
> If you actually read this, please comment if you'd like it to be continued. Feedback is what motivates!

**It has been nearly 200 years since a world-wide pandemic wiped out over 90% of Earth’s human population, with a large portion of the survivors being Alpha males and females.  As the world’s infrastructures collapsed - never to be resurrected again -  the Alphas, Betas and Omegas who survived reverted back to hunting, farming, gathering and trading and have relied on strict alphagarchy rule to keep the peace and settle disputes within colonies and with other colonies.**   
  
**Being able to produce multiple, strong offspring has been tantamount to rebuilding the population so as to offer a statistical chance at continued survival.  And Alphas know that there are none more crucial at achieving that than the small number of Omegas that are in the world today.**

 

Chapter 1 Spring Dance

 

Kip looks up into the night sky, attempting to count the stars. She knew it was a futile task of course, but the cadence of the numbers running through her mind as her eyes went from star to star always calmed her enough to fall asleep.

 

She turns on her side once her eyes get heavy and focuses momentarily on the fire and the sleeping forms around it, her excitement for the hunt in the morning quickly being eclipsed by sleep.

 

…

 

She approaches the barn, looking back to see if her mom is looking through the kitchen window. When she sees her head bowed down, she continues on. When one of the Schaler boys came over earlier asking if it was okay to put ‘it’ in the barn now and her mom had banished her to her room for half an hour, she knew something was up. She’d asked for a horse every year for her birthday for the last five years and she had a feeling this was the year.

 

“Lia!” The brunette hears her mom yell her name before she even gets within a foot of the barn door. She giggles and retraces her steps until she is a few feet from the barn, turning around and jogging back.

 

“Yes, Mother!” She yells back as she approaches the ranch house, eyes alight with mischief and delight.

 

“Father told you not to go into the barn until he got back, did he not?” Clara calls to her daughter.

 

“He did. Sorry.” Lia says as she picks up the paring knife and begins cutting potatoes.

 

“They’ll be back in a few hours and I want everything to be ready.” Clara reminds her as she dumps carrots into a large pot.

 

“For _my_ birthday dinner, I know.” Lia says with playful exasperation as she pulls out another couple of potatoes from the basket.

 

Clara looks at her daughter with a wide smile. _How beautiful she has grown up to be, on the inside and outside_ , she thinks, her sparkling eyes taking after her father’s and her dark mane, her own. Her willful personality but gentle heart reminding her so much of her beloved and her sharp mind and quick wit she proudly attributed to herself, so others had said.

 

“You excited about the spring dance coming up?” Clara asks knowing the dance is coming up in a few weeks.

 

“I am… I just don’t know what to wear…” Lia says with a sigh as she continues to cut the vegetables up.

 

“Whatever you choose, I know you’ll look lovely.” Clara smiles, knowing that now her daughter is turning 18, she’ll have a line of suitors garnering for her attention at this year’s dance, her beauty and status as Omega has guaranteed that.

 

She shakes off the thought of what will come once the young woman goes into heat for the first time after turning of age, trusting that Ki and Chase will be able to protect her until she is paired with a life mate. A daunting task, knowing how valuable Tessen offspring would be. _Worry about that when it comes, Clara_ , she admonishes herself.

 

“I can’t believe my baby is turning 18!” She cries as Lia laughs, slightly embarrassed at the scene her mom is making, even if it is just the two of them.

 

…

 

“Steady, Kip, don’t flinch, or it’s gone.” Rya whispers in her ear needlessly. She wants to whisper that just him being there will send the stag away, but she doesn’t want to spare the movement or energy on her brother.

 

She pulls in a breath and releases it slowly, along with the arrow. It flies true and fast, right between the stag’s third and fourth rib, piercing its heart instantly.

 

“Good show, Kip!” Tarin chortles as he claps Kip on the back. Kip smiles proudly, letting it turn into a cocky sneer as Rya pulls out his knife and trudges through the brush to start the process of breaking the large animal down. _It will feed our people for weeks,_ he grudgingly acknowledges. Even though both of them were alphas, his sister seems to be the more dominant of the two in just about everything.

 

…

 

“They’re back!” Lia yells as she spots her father and four brothers riding up the dirt road.

 

“How was it?” Lia asks, breathless with excitement of news from the neighboring colonies.

 

“It was successful.” Ki announces as he laughs at his daughter’s excitement. “Did you peek into the barn?” He asks, eyes narrowing.

 

“No, Father. I did try… but Mom caught me.” She admitted as she lifts her arms so her dad can place a bag of onions in them. She trots off to deliver them to her mom, who needs to put them in the pot of stew.

 

“Chase, Sid, put the horses up and you two unload the rest of the supplies.” He instructs his two younger sons, Pan and Sek. “When you are done, get Lia’s gift ready.” He finishes with a smile.

 

“Got it, Father.” They all say quickly and get to work completing their tasks.

 

 

“How is the stew coming along?” Ki asks as he clumps in through the front door, carrying a large burlap sack.

 

“Boots, Beloved!” Clara shouts at the man and he sheepishly retreats, kicking his boots off on the porch. He may be the Alpha of the house and she the Omega, but what she says goes inside their home.

 

He pads through the kitchen in his socks as his beloved dips a spoon into the broth, bringing it out for him to taste.

 

“Perfect.” He says, grinning and showing off large white teeth.

 

“Thank you. Lia helped too.” Clara smiles at her daughter proudly.

 

“But it is missing something…” He says as he sets the sack down on the large wooden counter, ignoring the puzzled expression on his beloved’s face. He quickly undoes the tie and pulls out a large piece of cured venison. Clara’s eyes go wide as she immediately kisses Ki’s cheek and squeals in delight.

 

“Happy birthday, my daughter.” He says as Lia’s eyes brighten too. Venison stew is a rare treat. He laughs and pulls out a chair to sit in as Clara gets busy cutting off what she’ll use for the stew.

 

“So, how was your week?” Ki asks his daughter and she launches into all the latest news and tells him about her school activities and what her friends did for her birthday.

 

He sits and listens patiently, wanting to give his sons enough time to prepare Lia’s birthday present.

 

Ki smiles once again at his daughter and looks at her conspiratorially. “Speaking of birthdays, want to go out to the barn with me?” He asks and the young woman beams.

 

“Yes, Father!” She says excitedly as Clara wipes her hands and nods. They all make their way to the barn where her brothers are milling about, smirks on their faces.

 

“Sek, go ahead.” Ki prompts and the youngest of his boys goes to the far stall and brings out the most beautiful coffee colored mustang she has ever seen.

 

“Father!” She exhales and runs to the horse, immediately stroking the diamond shaped white patch on his nose. “He’s really mine?” She asks with wide eyes.

 

“All yours.” He says as he puts an arm around his beloved as she pats his chest.

 

“Can I ride him?” She asks, not taking her eyes off of the animal.

 

“Sure, just don’t be gone long, you don’t want to be late to your own birthday dinner, do you?” Her father chuckles. “Sek, saddle up and ride with her, okay?”

 

“Father, we just came back…” He begins to grumble but then sees his dad’s jovial expression slide off his face. “Of course.” He mutters, not feeling put out for long when he sees his sister’s gleeful smile.

 

“Thanks, Sek, I just want to take him for a quick spin.” She says to her brother with an appreciative smile.

 

“No problem, Lia.” He says, giving her a smile as he goes to get his horse.

 

…

 

“Kip, you really are something with that bow and arrow of yours.” Elder Clya says as she accepts the large piece of wrapped deer meet.

 

“Thank you, Elder Clya.” She says dipping her head at the compliment.

 

“And Rya, I heard you outran Clet’s dog to save Mia’s chickens?” The old, white haired woman says, not wanting to leave the young man out of the praising. The two were all her brother Tarin had left and she did what she could to let the young Alphas know they were appreciated in their small colony.

 

“Thanks, Elder.” The young man mumbles, not seeing how special saving some stupid chickens were to his sister who could feed their entire colony nearly single handedly.

 

“You two going to the spring dance across the river at the Dakota colony in a few weeks?” The elder asks conversationally.

 

Kip rubs the back of her neck. Now that she and her brother are 18, their colony is expecting them to find a mate, either within their colony or a neighboring one.

 

“We are, Father permitting.” Rya answers for them both. He hopes the girls in the neighboring colony have more to offer in the looks department than the ones in his own.

 

“I’m sure he’ll let you go. You two will probably come back with two strong Omega girls is my guess.” She says with a grin, patting their shoulders good-naturedly.

 

“That’s the plan!” Rya offers boastfully as Kip just shakes her head with an incredulous smile.

 

…

 

 

Lia slips on the last dress she has, a cream colored one that is sleeveless and loose and flowing from the waist down. Her mother had made it for her sixteenth birthday and it had been a favorite ever since. She did wish she had a new one for the dance, but getting the barn repaired took priority over trading for fabric that month.

 

“You going with that one?” Clara asks as she carries a pair of her shoes in with her. “Slip these on, they’ll be perfect.” She comments and her daughter bends down and puts them on. She stands back up and looks at herself in the mirror.

 

“Beautiful, honey.” Clara says, coming up behind her daughter and sweeping her hair to one side.

 

“Thanks, Mother.” She says with a smile.

 

“Chase and Sid are down getting the wagon hitched. Back by midnight, remember?” She reminds and the dark-haired girl nods, just keeping from rolling her eyes.

 

“Yes, Mother, we’ll be home by then.” She responds dutifully.

 

…

 

Kip and Rya slide off of their horses and dust themselves off, helping each other straighten their shirt collars and vests. They run their boot tops over the back of their pant covered calves and Kip pulls the pin out of her loose bun to let down her sun-streaked light brown hair.

 

She grins at her brother as he smoothes his blonde curling locks down.

 

“Ready to go woo some Omega’s?” He asks with a cocky grin, making his sister shake her head and roll her eyes good-naturedly.

 

 

The Spring Dance, held in the Dakota Colony was first and foremost a place for young Alphas, Betas and Omegas to get together and have fun before the busy planting season, but it also served as a major annual event to meet others from surrounding colonies. They came from as close as a half hour’s walk away to sometimes even half a day’s ride in order to meet others their age and to even find a potential mate. Most colonies were still rather small and finding mates in other colonies was important to make sure they weren’t dipping from the same gene pool.

 

 

Kip and Rya watch as several people their age begin streaming into the large open building where a band is playing upbeat music. They can barely contain their excitement and nervousness at seeing so many people their age. They come from a pretty small colony and to be surrounded by this many people alone is a unique experience.

 

Rya makes a move first and Kip follows quickly on his heels as they go to a long table just outside the entrance. They see a sign in sheet and queue up to fill out their names, birthdates, colonies and status.

 

They sign the register and begin to leave the table when a young man with wiry, thick dark hair stops them. “You guys will need some scent blocker. Just under your nose.” He says and demonstrates how to do it. They look at him quizzically as they do and he gives them a small smile.

 

“This is a social, public gathering… don’t want you alpha’s getting frisky with any Betas or Omegas.” He chuckles.

 

Both nod quickly, remembering the speech their father so awkwardly gave them a few years ago. Neither had put any of what he talked about into practice yet, knowing that their colony was pretty strict on mating before being ceremony joined.

 

“I see food.” Rya says, grabbing Kip’s arm and dragging her to the back corner of the building. Kip allows her brother to pull her along as she looks around at all the people in small groups talking, laughing and dancing.

 

She’s not paying attention to where Rya is taking her and nearly topples over when something impedes her progress.

 

“Oh, sorry.” She says as she instinctually puts her hands out to grab whomever it was she ran into so they both wouldn’t fall.

 

“Hey!” The young dark haired woman shrieks in surprise at being run into and then groped. Once she is righted and the warm, strong hands disappear from around her waist, she gathers herself, her surprise turning into mild indignation.

 

“I’m very sorry, my brother was dragging me to the food table…” Kip starts but loses her train of thought at the sight of beautiful, cinnamon colored eyes looking back at her contrite green ones.

 

“Perhaps you need to watch where your brother is dragging you.” She states with mild sternness.

 

“I will… next time…” Kip offers lamely as Rya appears at her side.

 

“Hi, I’m Rya.” He introduces himself, completely oblivious to the scene he just caused.

 

“I’m Lia and you just ran your sister into me.” She admonishes, her mild anger dissipating at the strikingly handsome brother and sister.

 

“I’m sorry. She’s not as quick or agile as I am.” He boasts and Kip cuffs him on the back of his head.

 

“I’m Kip and I’m sorry that this is my brother.” She smiles back at her now scowling brother who is rubbing the back of his head.

 

“Well, Kip and Rya. Welcome to Dakota Colony. Where are you two from?” She asks as her brother Chase walks up.

 

“This is Chase, my brother. These are some new friends, Kip and Rya.” Lia announces but is confused when Chase leans in and gives Rya and Kip hearty handshakes.

 

“I know these two. We traded with them!” Chase says happily. He then looks at his sister with a smile. “Remember that venison Father brought home?” He says and points to Kip who blushes slightly.

 

“You are a hunter?” She asks with interest.

 

“I am.” Kip replies with a proud smile.

 

“I slaughtered the buck!” Rya announces awkwardly and the other three chuckle.

 

“He’s magic with a knife.” Kip says with a teasing smile as Rya shrinks a bit.

 

“Well, it was amazing.” Lia says as she looks back to Kip.

 

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Kip replies. Suddenly the band picks up and it becomes a bit hard to hear.

 

“Well, we hope you enjoy yourselves! Come find us in a bit and we’ll introduce you to a few of our friends!” Chase calls over the music and the siblings nod, Rya continuing his quest for food, this time leaving his sister to follow at her own leisure.

 

She remains in her spot for a few more seconds watching the beautiful dark-haired girl walk off in animated conversation with her brother, a small smile on her face.

 


	2. Maybe I Will

“Kip! You finished stringing my bow or what?” San, her best friend calls from the door of the small archery shop.

 

“Geez, you are so impatient!” She chuckles as she tightens the last tie and stands up to inspect it, then nocks an arrow and aims it at the much taller female Alpha.

 

San stands stock-still and closes her eyes as she hears a whisper of displaced air and then a loud ‘thwack’ right above her head. She winces when she reaches up and can barely get her index finger between the top of her head and the arrow.

 

“Did you let out a little pee?” Kip asks with demented glee.

 

“Nope. I know you are good with those things.” The woman grumbles dryly, looking down at the front of her trousers, relieved to not see any wet spot.

 

“Then I won’t tell you that that was my first test shot since stringing it.” Kip remarks casually as she steps up on her tiptoes to pluck the arrow out of the wood.

 

San’s eyes bulge for a second and then go back to normal size. She should be used to the green-eyed hawk she has for a friend.

 

“I should let you build the roof on your own damn house just for that.” San pouts and her friend laughs.

 

“Don’t be a pup. How many times have I shot things off of your head and have never so much as split a hair?” Kip asks rhetorically as she heads out of the back door and to her small cottage that she and her friend were in the process of finishing.

 

“Besides, I really need to finish this thing. I registered for the Dakota Colony’s Strength and Virility Contest.” Kip announces as she reaches the tresses for the roof.

 

“You did? Did you meet someone at the dance or did Elder Clya make you enter?” San asks, clapping her friend on the back.

 

“I did meet an Omega. She’s beautiful, San. As soon as I met her, I just knew she was the one.” Kip says, her eyes glistening slightly at the mere recollection of meeting Lia a couple of weeks ago.

 

She’d ended up finally approaching the dark haired beauty after watching an exhausting amount of young alpha males and a couple of females whisk her off to dance with them.

_“You are a great dancer.” Kip says as she hands Lia a cup of elderberry juice._

_“Thank you, Kip.” Lia says with a smile that reaches all the way through her flushed cheeks to her sparkling eyes._

_“You’re welcome. Thought you needed it after your fifth straight song.” Kip says and then blushes realizing she’d given herself away on how long she’d been watching the Omega._

_“Five? No wonder my feet hurt.” Lia chuckles and Kip can’t help but be instantly smitten._

_“I was going to ask you to dance, but how about we just have a seat and I’ll hold them off for a bit.” She smiles, gesturing to the Alphas that seemed to be stalking her as she stood with Kip._

_“That would be awesome. Looks like Chase has found himself a dance partner. As has Rya.” Lia says lightly as she points to their brothers, dancing around each other comically, making some of the young women laugh and point._

_“That’s a sure-fire way to land a mate, act like a fool.” Kip laughs and catcalls her brother, making Lia laugh even more._

_They finally make their way to a table and the music thankfully shifts into a slower, quieter song._

_“So you are from across the river?” Lia asks as she turns and takes a sip from her cup._

_“Yep. Huron Colony.” Kip answers. Lia nods, knowing that is almost a day’s ride from Dakota._

_“You guys staying at the inn?” Lia asks._

_“Nah, we’ll camp out by the river and then head home in the morning.” Kip answers._

_“Is that safe?” Lia asks, eyes wide. There are plenty of large predators that roam the area not to mention bands of outsiders that don’t care to live by colony rules, or rules in general._

_“Well, we hope so. We do it at home all the time when we are hunting.” Kip says with a hint of concern now. It turns into a mildly embarrassed shrug when she admits, “We don’t have much to barter with for things like staying at the inn.”_

_“You guys should stay in our barn then.” The Omega offers earnestly. “I’d offer you our home, but it is full as it is with the seven of us.” She adds regretfully._

_“Oh, no. That’s okay.” Kip says with a shake of her head._

_“What’s okay?” Chase asks as he and Rya come back from chatting up a couple of Betas._

_“I offered them our barn since they were going to camp outside of the colony tonight.” Lia informs her brother._

_“That would be fine. You guys are more than welcome. Gonna be a cold one tonight too. You should stay.” Chase says with a nod._

_Kip and Rya look at each other. They aren’t used to relying on anyone outside of their small colony, but they can’t really think of a reason to say no._

_“Sure.” Kip says and is rewarded with a big, beautiful smile from the dark haired Omega._

 

_As they are riding back to the Tessen Ranch with Kip and Rya flanking the wagon with their horses, Kip overhears Lia and Chase talking about the contest lottery all unattached female Omegas must enter when they turn 18. She is surprised and elated to find that Lia is one of them._

“Well, then I hope she is the one. When’s the contest?” San asks.

 

“A month from Saturday.” Kip answers as she grabs the ladder.

 

“That doesn’t leave a lot of time to train.” San reasons. Kip shrugs.

 

“I know. I think I’ll do okay if I can work a couple of hours a day on an element of each event.” Kip says. “And I know once we get this roof up, you’ll help me, right?” Kip adds with a batting of her eyelashes.

 

“Stop, you freak. Yes, I’ll help. We gotta get you on top so you can have your pick.” San winks.

 

…

 

Clara and Ki sit at the kitchen table, silent and tense as Lia comes into the kitchen.

 

“Hey, what’s got you two so glum?” Lia asks, as she slips off her light coat from her morning ride.

 

“Prin has asked for special consideration.” Ki says, his expression serious.

 

Lia silently pulls out a chair and sits. Prin is the oldest Alpha son of one of the colony elders and though he is a model contributor and of good breeding stock, his personality and behavior leaves a lot to be desired. He came off as arrogant and acted recklessly at times. He had made several attempts to get Lia alone during the Spring Dance, but she always made sure she was with someone.

 

Lia remains silent, unsure if her father is waiting for a response from her or telling her how it is going to be. When he looks at her with a questioning frown, she sighs.

 

“Do I have to accept?” Lia asks.

 

“His family is well stationed, respected. The pairing makes sense.” He says evenly. Clara’s eyes go a bit hard at his words, but she remains quiet.

 

“So I should accept.” Lia says, her shoulders slumping slightly. If she does, she isn’t subjected to being chosen by whoever wins the strength and virility contest. _Sometimes the devil you know_ … She thinks to herself.

 

“It is one hundred per cent up to you, Lia.” Clara finally says, ignoring the look her beloved is giving her. He softens though when he sees the relief on his daughter’s face. Sometimes he really hated the breeding/joining rules the alphagarchy instituted after the pandemic. He knows they were made out of necessity, but he was convinced none of them had Omega daughters when they voted on these rules.

 

“Is there any of the other Alphas that have caught your eye from our colony?” Clara asks, knowing if their daughter did fancy someone, and they wanted to join with her, they could petition as intendeds, meaning there was already a mutual agreement to be ceremony joined once they turned 18. But Lia had never been one to be concerned with that part of coming of age and never paid attention to Alphas that showed interest. Her attention had always been on her apprenticeship for animal caregiving once she turned 14, reading and her handful of school friends.

 

“No.” Lia says, thinking back to anyone who made an impression on her.

 

“Are you prepared to join with whoever wins the contest then?” Ki finally asks.

 

“What other choice do I have? I haven’t an intended, I don’t want to join with Prin…” Lia says wearily.

 

The three sit in silence, each with their own regrets on not thinking about this sooner. It was always known that by an Omega female’s 18th birthday in the Dakota colony she had to be intended, already joined or go into the lottery to be chosen by the top strength and virility contestants.

 

“I’m sorry, Lia…” Her mother says with sadness. “ I should have…” She says but is stopped by her daughter.

 

“Perhaps it was always supposed to be this way.” Lia suddenly says, feeling a strange sense of clarity on the situation.

 

Clara looks skeptical, but Ki looks at his daughter with something akin to awe. Whether she really believes that or she’s trying to make her parents feel like they haven’t failed her, he marvels at his daughter’s maturity and perhaps even wisdom.

 

“Perhaps it was.” Ki says with a small smile, trying to convince himself of the very thought.

 

…

 

 

“Damn, Kip. You are a beast.” San says as she watches her best friend wipe down her brow and upper chest. “You’re going to give those Dakota colony Alphas a run for their money.” She grins at her use of the old pre-pandemic idioms.

 

“I have to win to have a chance at Lia.” She says matter of fact as she grabs her water canteen and drains it.

 

“Well, I do think you are in fine shape to do it.” The tall Alpha says happily.

 

“I wish you could come. I’ll only have Rya to chirp in my ear on the way there telling me how _he’s_ going to win and then having him whine all the way back when he doesn’t.” Kip chuckles.

 

“Maybe you’ll have company other than your brother when you return.” San responds with a hopeful grin.

 

“Maybe I will.” Kip says with a small smile, not allowing herself to hope just yet.

 

 


	3. What is at Stake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments so far. They do get me motivated to write, especially when I should be doing other things! 
> 
> To those who usually don't read original fiction, thanks so much for giving me a chance! I am known to write some pretty angsty, sexy, drama filled stories. So, if that's your thing, I'd love to hear from you if you are enjoying it!

Kip smiles as her young cousins, Tad and Lela, fight over who gets to watch her dog and who gets to care for her other animals while she’s gone as she finishes tying down her and Rya’s gear.

 

She feels a hand on her shoulder and turns to see Clya’s beloved, Sheela smiling warmly at her. “Clya tells me you have your eye on one of the Dakota colony’s prized Omegas.”

 

Kip looks at her blankly, prompting Sheela to elaborate. “It is the Tessen girl, right? Lia?” Kip nods.

 

“Her kin line has long produced very strong Alphas and Omegas. Most have stayed in the Dakota colony.” She points out.

 

“You giving me a heads up or trying to prepare me for disappointment should I lose?” Kip asks with a wry grin.

 

“Neither. I’m reminding you what is at stake.” Sheela says seriously, but with warmth. “Combining our kin lines could ensure our survival, Kip. I don’t want to put all the pressure on you, but you are the strongest young Alpha of our colony. To win that contest and bring Lia here as a mate…” She trails off, seeing in Kip’s eyes that she does understand.

 

“I will do my very best.” She says solemnly, nodding to the wise Omega woman.

 

 

“You really think you can beat them all?” Rya asks as he and his sister make their way to the Dakota colony in their father’s wagon. They have each brought their joining offerings- ‘payment’ for the Omega’s family should they be able to choose one as their mate- their bedrolls, as it is a weeklong stay, and for Kip, she carries a letter from her deceased mother her father had handed to her as they were leaving with instructions to read it before the contest started.

 

She didn’t appreciate the surprise of being handed the letter that her father said her mother wrote a day before her death, right before she was to enter into the most taxing event in her life to date. But, she loved her mother and missed her desperately, and was curious as to what was in the letter that had to be read now, so she told her father she’d do as he asks.

 

She wondered if Rya received a letter too, but didn’t want to bring it up, just in case he didn’t. She knows he would be hurt.

 

 

About a mile from Dakota colony, the siblings could already tell that this contest was a huge event. Already she saw make shift tents, wooden campers, fire pits and lots and lots of Alphas gathered around the perimeter.

 

“Whoa. Bet they have to lock all the Omega, and Beta women for that matter, up for this event.” Rya chuckled.

 

Kip’s thoughts turn to Lia, wondering if she might be able to have a word with her and let her know her intentions, should she win. But she doesn’t want to jinx anything.

 

“Let’s find us a spot and then find the check-in station.” Kip says as they both scan the area for a small space to set up.

 

…

 

 

“Lia, you about ready?” Clara calls up to the loft. Lia sits at her desk, wiping her eyes quickly.

 

“Yes, Mother. Coming down in a minute.” She says in a strong voice. She stands and smoothes out her new dress her mother had made just for this occasion. She checks her eyes in the mirror to make sure there is no trace left of tears. She had a week to find out her fate, no use getting upset or worried about it now. The contest was a week of fun and festivities during the day for spectators, so she would just concentrate on enjoying it until Choosing Day.

 

 

“Alphas, Betas, and Omegas, welcome to the 150th Annual Strength and Virility Contest!” Beh, one of the female Alpha elders announces enthusiastically, her long, flowing white hair wrapping around her shoulders in the light wind.

 

“At the end of this week we will find who the top ten Alphas are from the surrounding areas and who they pick as their Omega mates!” She continues as the audience from all the neighboring colonies applaud.

 

“Now, here are your contestants!” She exclaims as they bring up the Alphas across the stage ten at a time. There are sixty in total this year, but by tomorrow’s end, that total will be cut in half and cut again until there are only 10 left before the last two events on the last day of competition that will determine their order.

 

“There are so many this year…” Clara states as she watches the Alphas come up on the stage and are introduced by their names and colonies. She wraps her arm around Lia as the males and females are paraded across the stage, mentally tallying all the ones from their colony, which most were.

 

After their conversation with Lia about Prin’s request, she and Ki discussed possible scenarios based on who they knew to be from good breeding stock in their colony and who could potentially win the contest.

 

“We prepared her for making a home for her Alpha, and how important it is to carry on our line, but we failed in preparing her for what it would actually _be_ like to be ceremony joined. We should have pushed to find her a mate before it came time to enter into the lottery…” Clara had said in frustration.

 

“Perhaps she had been asked but turned them away?” Clara wondered aloud as her beloved shrugged.

 

“More like they either didn’t get past one of her brothers, or she had no idea what they were asking.” Ki had said with a forced chuckle. He should have prepared his only daughter better for this day. He just didn’t want to actually believe it would come, even though this had been the practice since his great grandfather’s father was a little pup.

 

 _Doesn’t matter now. One of these Alphas will be gifted our daughter_ , Clara thinks as she tightens her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. She knows she’ll be one of the first choices for the vetted Alphas, she just hopes it is someone who treats her as well and loves her as much as her beloved does, and selfishly, one who is from the Dakota colony.

 

She feels her daughter tense when a name is announced and she looks up to see a strikingly handsome tallish female Alpha with light brown hair and moss green eyes. She recognizes her as the one from the night of the Spring Dance that stayed in their barn. The one from Huron that traded for the venison.

 

“Contestant number 32, Kip Holt, from Huron Colony!” She barely registers as a sense of foreboding grips her heart.

 

…

 

Kip looks out into the crowd until she spots Lia, looking even more beautiful than she remembered. She sees her with her mother and smiles internally at the strong resemblance she has to her, now that she can see the two clearly in the light of day, side by side. _Strong genes, indeed_ , she muses.

 

She catches eyes with her ever so briefly as they announce her name and a small frown slides over her face at Lia’s reaction. It puts a bit of a knot in her stomach, but after reading her mother’s letter last night, she’s more determined than ever to win this contest and bring Lia back home with her.

 

…

 

Kip learns that the first few preliminary tests after the opening ceremony are actually more detailed background checks and interviews, having contestants elaborate on their registration packet information. Answering questions on lineage, physical and mental health and means to support an Omega and multiple off-spring eliminate at least fifteen Alphas right from the start and by the end of the day, there are forty contestants ready for the start of main competition the next morning.

 

Kip quickly looks through the schedule board to see when the dreaded ‘virility assessment’ is and sighs a bit in relief. It’s one of the first events and it is ‘judges only’.

 

“Thank the heavens for that.” She mutters as other Alphas reading along side her groan in disappointment. She’s pretty happy with what she has going on below the waist and if her nights flying solo during rut are any indication, she’ll have no problem ‘performing’. She is on the modest side though and isn’t keen to show the world what is intended for her mate alone, unlike so many other alphas.

 

“Damn, thought we were gonna be able to show off our goods to the Omegas.” Rya says with a lecherous grin. Kip turns to him and stares at her brother.

 

“Don’t you want to leave something to the imagination?” She asks and then tilts her head as if in thought. “Or better yet, perhaps she will want to wait to be disappointed?”

 

Rya takes a second to register what his sister just said, but by that time she is halfway to their campsite, her hearty laugh being swallowed by the mildly windy night.

 

…

 

“Did you know that Kip would be in the contest?” Lia asks her brother Chase, trying to sound casual.

 

“Nope. I mean I kinda figured she might be…” Chase says with a shrug. “Why?” He asks, seemingly oblivious to his sister’s consternation.

 

“I thought she might have told me when we met at the Spring Dance.” Lia admits. It threw her off a bit, seeing Kip up there, vying for a chance at an Omega.

 

Suddenly, Chase’s eyes widen. He remembers the look on Kip’s face throughout the night when she was with his sister. “You think she wants to choose you?” He asks, eyes wide. “She’d have to win outright to get the chance.” He notes with a proud, confident smile, knowing his sister will be highly sought after.

 

“I.. I don’t know.” Lia says, suddenly uncomfortable. “I’m turning in.”   She says distractedly. She goes to the foot of the stairs before turning to her brother, offering him a warm smile.

 

“Good luck tomorrow. Tell Sid the same.” She says, giving him a tight hug.

 

…

 

 

After all the contestants had settled for the night, Kip gets up and goes to the big contestant board. She shuffles through the list of Omegas that are in the lottery, reading their names, lineage history and brief descriptions. She gets to Lia and sees that her page has been marked several times. She lets out a low grunt of conviction, determined to do what it takes to win the competition and leave no doubt that she should be gifted her first choice.

 


	4. You Have to Get Through Me First

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for commenting! Here's a long one! Contest Week!

Kip readies herself on the line as she wipes her hands on her pants. She doesn’t look to either side, content to concentrate on her own performance.

 

“GO!”

 

She takes off diving under the first obstacle, noting the flat chested male alphas are scurrying through a bit faster. She quickens her pace, hand, foot, push, hand, foot, push, sliding under the barrier and popping up to the bag drag, her muscles singing at the effort.

 

Next, the wall. She has scrambled up trees since she could walk and flies over it with ease. By the time she’s onto the log push, she only hears two other Alphas breathing heavily in her proximity. She crosses the finish line second to the rumored favorite to win the competition, Seth, a large, strapping dark haired male, member of the Dakota Colony and son of one of the prominent Dakota families.

 

She waits a few more seconds and smiles when she sees her brother, Rya, gasp into sixth place.

 

“That’ll get the blood pumping!” Kip chuckles as she claps her brother on the back, who can only nod while trying to catch his breath.

There are a few more agility events before the contest ends for the day and after a brief meeting about the upcoming events, each retires to their campsite to eagerly await the results of the first day. Kip and Rya are just finishing their evening meal when a bell rings, signaling the posting of results.

 

“Ready?” Kip calls, already standing.

 

“I’m gonna sit here and relax. Let me know where I am.” He says rubbing his left quad. She smiles at her brother. He did well, most likely sitting in the middle of the top half. She’s glad she made him train with her when she could get him away from the library and his job as the apprentice book printer.

 

“Will do, Rya.” She says and takes off towards the boards.

 

She is about four rows deep when she finally gets to the leader board and waits patiently to view the names. She listens to the conversations going around her and perks up when she hears Lia’s name mentioned.

 

“No wonder Prin asked for special consideration for Lia, he’s bombing out of the competition already!” She hears one Alpha say.

 

“Yep, thought his Alpha mommy elder was going to make an exception for him when Lia turned him down. She can’t turn me down though.” Kip turns to see it is Seth talking with a smirk that disappears when she sees him turn to read the board. He walks away quickly with a disapproving scowl.

 

“Lia was smart to refuse that asshole.” Another female Alpha chimes in, but Kip has stopped paying attention as she cranes her neck to see what got Seth upset. Her face splits into a grin. She searches Rya’s name and her grin gets even bigger.

 

…

 

“Alright contestants, this portion of the competition is judges only, for obvious reasons. You will be lined up in groups of 5 and have 5 minutes to demonstrate basic virility.” A square faced, older Alpha male informs.

 

“The top 5 will be called in first.” He announces and Seth, Kip and the others that round out the top 5 Alphas get walked into a small tent.

 

“Slide off your pants and briefs and put your hands behind your backs, please.” A small, wiry Omega female commands kindly and each of the Alphas comply. They can’t help but take quick peeks of the other’s flaccid penises. One of them snickers, setting off a round of small chuckles until the Omega quiets them down.

 

While their hands are being tied loosely behind their backs, so as not to ‘cheat’, the Omega, introducing herself as Lissa, addresses the group of 5 casually to set them at ease.

 

“Ever wonder why there are few Alpha females that enter the contest let alone win it?” She starts and Kip turns to her with interest.

 

“It’s because Alpha females are much more confident and forward with finding a mate, they normally pair off before their 18th birthday.” She informs them and she hears the male Alphas grumble in protest.

 

“Know why the Alpha men choose to enter the contest?” She continues and the males look at her this time.

 

“They can’t help but want to show off.” She says lightly, making all 5 of them chuckle. “Even with our species’ mutation of Alphas and Omegas being nearly a thousand years old and the entire human species on the brink of extinction today, male and female stereotypes are still very much alive and well.” She concludes wryly and the 5 Alphas nod, knowing it to be true. Kip would rather be the exception to the rule in this case and surprise everyone by winning.

 

“Alright, Alphas, time to show the judges what you got.” She announces and the Alphas are bombarded with three attractive Omegas of differing proportions and looks, all scantily clad and in heat.

 

“I see why else they tied our hands…” Seth grumbles as he feels his cock come to life.

 

Kip’s nostrils flair, never being this close to a female Omega in heat before. She grunts quietly as her body begins to react and with a most visceral change to her thoughts and desires. Blood rushes to her cock making her light-headed. Off to the side she can see a handful of older Alphas and a couple of Betas - she can smell - quickly jotting down notes on their pads.

 

“I don’t think I have to tell you what we are looking for here, but to wit, those that have the most intense reaction, not necessarily the largest penis - though it does help…” The Omega comments a bit breathless at the display in front of her, “We want to see Alphas that respond with an overwhelming need to mate.” She pauses for a moment and Kip opens her eyes, having been picturing that it is Lia she is smelling. She sees that Lissa is staring intently at her penis, prompting her to look down, her eyes going wide at the biggest erection she’s ever had.

 

“Whoa.” She mumbles and sighs in relief when Lissa finally averts her eyes and continues her speech.

 

“As I was saying, we will be rating you on level of excitement and strength of pheromones you are producing…” Lissa continues, but is interrupted when an Omega gets to close to the Alphas. Kip takes in a sharp breath when one of the Omegas gets within a hair’s breath of her penis.

 

“Okay, I think we got what we need here. Bell, Sair, Min, you can go back to the other tent now.” Lissa instructs the Omegas before they have a scene on their hands.

 

“Well done, Alphas. You’re hands will be untied in a moment and you may dress yourselves and standby in the tent over there to recover.” The square Alpha steps back in to instruct the flush, incredibly horny Alphas.

 

…

 

After the virility assessment, and some time to recover, the rest of that day’s competitions are more the cerebral kind with a combination of problem solving scenarios, aggressive outsider engagement strategies and puzzles, both word and mathematical.

 

At the end of evening meal, the results are posted with Kip slipping to second, but only by a narrow margin behind Seth and Rya jumping into to fifth position.

 

She turns to him and throws an arm around him. “I guess you really killed it on the brain games today, huh?” She deadpans and the Alpha looks at his sister sternly.

 

“Ah, Rya, we’re siblings, I know you to be of adequate size.” She says with a little smile.

 

“Well, it’s no surprise you slipped to second, Sister. Did you let your little head complete your puzzles for you?” He retorts, making her pinch him in the arm good-naturedly.

 

“Good one, Brother, good one. But I won’t be in second for long.” She boasts.

 

…

 

Lia wakes up to the sound of Chase and Sid wrestling around on the ground floor and groans. She gets up to see the sun is well up. “Guess I was tired.” She mumbles as she walks down to the washroom, bypassing her brothers, to get ready for the day.

 

…

 

“Seth is in the lead.” Sid mentions to Lia as they sit down to breakfast.

 

“He wouldn’t be a bad choice.” Chase chimes in as he wolfs down a big chunk of potato pancakes.

 

“Well, it would be _he_ who had the choice now, wouldn’t he.” She says with a bit of bite.

 

Both brothers look at each other for a moment, feeling sympathy for their sister. “Kip’s in second.” Chase says, after a beat.

 

“Heard she rocked the virility assessment.” Sid adds as his mother comes into the room.

 

“Sid! Is that meal table talk?” Clara admonishes her son. She looks over to her daughter who has her head down, a blush creeping over her cheeks. _I need to have a serious talk with her_ , she realizes and frowns. They’d talked about mating when she went through her first heat, at least the basics, but she knows she’ll need to go a bit more into detail. She was one of the more sheltered Omegas, for a few reasons, and she knows she’s running out of time to really talk to her daughter and answer any questions she has.

 

“You two finish up and go help your Father with the watering before you head out, okay?” She tells more than asks and both young men nod and tuck into their meals quietly and quickly.

 

 

When it is just the two Omegas cleaning up after breakfast, Clara breaks the ice.

 

“When your father chose me after winning the contest, I was scared to death.” She begins with a small giggle. “He was sweet, but a real Alpha. All brute, very little tact.” She remembers.

 

“Did you know him? Before?” Lia asks, setting down the plate she was drying and turning to her mother.

 

“A little. Our families knew each other from doing builds together. He would accompany his father and sometimes they’d stay for dinner.”

 

“Did you like him?” Lia inquires as her mother takes a seat at the table. She goes to sit across from her.

 

“At first?” She laughs at the recollection. “Not so much. I had to train him quite a bit.”

 

At Lia’s quizzical look, she elaborates. “He knew what he wanted, but he had a hard time communicating that, at least in a way _I_ could understand.” She answers. “He also had to learn to compromise and listen. He learned quickly he would go without if he didn’t.” She says with a sly grin.

 

“Are you talking about mating, Mother? Because if you are..” Lia starts, getting flush.

 

Clara’s eyes soften and she puts her hand over her daughter’s. “I’m talking about all of it. Communication, partnership, mating, rearing your young… Whomever you end up with, it will take some work on both sides. But don’t be mistaken, Alphas are Alphas and Omegas are Omegas, you just have to learn what works for the both of you. Once you start having pups, you’ll see how important it is to be on the same page on most things.”

 

“I’m so scared, Mother.” Lia admits. It breaks Clara’s heart. But she’s been there too, and she loves her life now. She’d learned to love Ki and would until her dying breath.

 

“You are a Tessen, Lia. You are beautiful, smart and strong. No matter who chooses you as a mate, you are going to be fine. You will have lots of pups to dote over and I’m sure your mate will quickly begin to appreciate what he, or she, has in you.”

 

Lia takes in what her mother has just told her. It makes her feel a bit better, but still, she has a lingering fear that it isn’t going to be as simple as her mother has made it out to be.

 

…

 

 

The contestants are down to the top ten and two last events, a head-to-head wrestling contest and an overnight hunting competition to determine choosing order.

 

Kip is paired up with one of Lia’s brothers and she sits alone, trying to formulate a strategy to defeat the much larger Alpha male. He was definitely the largest one left in the competition. It makes her wonder who did the ‘random’ choosing. Made no difference though, she would win. She definitely had him beat in the speed department. She just had to execute her moves quicker than he.

 

She hears her name called and enters the ring, a quickly constructed roped off area with animal skins laid over soft dirt.

 

She readies herself on the balls of her feet, listening to the rules once again. The crowd that had gathered around the ring is boisterous and excited as this is the first match of the morning.

 

Kip looks around for a second, looking for a certain dark haired Omega and smiles quickly when she spots her sitting on a barrel with a few of her female friends. Lia gives her a small smile that makes Kip’s eyes light, until Kip sees her give an even bigger smile to her brother. She turns back and faces Sid.

 

“FIGHT!” She hears and rushes to the center as Sid goes for her legs immediately. She jumps out of the way, giving up center and moving quickly to avoid his lunges. After a minute of this, the crowd begins to get restless. She knows she must score points somehow so she goes on the offensive with a quick move that has her taking the big man down with surprise. He easily shoves her off though and they are standing again.

 

She grins when she sees he’s actually quite winded. She continues to evade his grasps until the end of the round.

 

When the second one starts, she begins to make grabs of her own, but mistimes one and ends up under the big guy. He pins her for a three count and up they go.

 

She scowls at being caught and goes back to a high pace of moving and dodging, looking for an opening. She sees it when he goes for a sloppy takedown and she ends up using his momentum to throw him over her hip, eliciting a large, collective gasp from the crowd just as the second round ends.

 

At the start of the third round, she hears a few cheers for her and it makes her grin. Sid, for how big and powerful he is, is exhausted. He tries for one more desperate takedown and succeeds but he is too tired to pin her and she rolls out and bounces to her feet. He smiles at the move and she gives him a wink.

 

There’s a clap which signals ten seconds left and Kip goes for it, rushing him. She gets her hands low on his hips and tries to upend him, but only succeeds in getting him off balance onto one hand. The ref signals and end to the bout and both stand in the middle of the ring.

 

They stand, tired soaking up the cheers and claps before the ref quiets the crowd.

 

“After three rounds, judges score the fight 28 to 29 for your winner by a hair, Sid Tessen!” The locals clap and howl as Kip gamely shakes Sid’s hand.

 

He pulls her in and says in a whisper, “Thanks for taking it easy on me.”

 

She laughs, knowing he merely wanted to get the win, not hurt her. There were still a few more bouts she had and she had barely broken a sweat. She still felt good about her chances.

 

 

She ends up winning her second bout easily against one of the other three Alpha females and then sighs when she sees she’s drawn Seth.

 

He’s not as big as Sid, but he is a good size. Fortunately for her, he had has hands full with one of the other Alphas in his second bout that really worked him. Unfortunately for her, it left him extra motivated to beat her.

 

There was a lot more action in this match and Kip found herself pinned a couple of times. She had a couple of takedowns, but she knew she was losing. By the third round, she was desperate and Seth knew it.

 

“Heard you want to choose Lia as a mate. You have to get through me first.” He grunts as he pulls her arm up in an awkward angle. She waits until he relaxes just a bit and spins out of it, landing on top of him.

 

“Not a problem.” She grounds out as she finally gets a pin. When they are let back up, he instantly crashes into her again, knocking the breath out of her.

 

“Point deduction! Opponent wasn’t set!” The ref calls out as everyone goes silent at the uncharacteristic unsportsmanlike action. Kip gets up and rubs her ribs, knowing she’ll be sore the next day.

 

The round ends shortly after with neither getting much more in the way of points, but in the end Seth wins by two points.

 

That night on the leader board, she falls to third place.

 

“Don’t worry Sis, the hunting event is tomorrow.” Rya says and gives her a knowing grin.

 

Even if she doesn’t know the hunting grounds here like she does back home, she has no doubt she’ll take first place once and for all.

 


	5. Kill Shot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter for those that have been wanting an update! I'm on a roll!

Lia is in her room reading when she hears her mother walking up the steps. She feels her eyes on her from the doorway and puts her book down, looking at her mom with a warm, expectant smile.

 

“How many times have you read this one?” Clara asks as she goes to sit on her daughter’s bed, picking up the book, remembering bartering for it for Lia’s tenth birthday.

 

“Oh, perhaps ten times…” Lia chuckles.

 

Once order and stability had been established in the new post-pandemic world, Omegas and Betas had taken on the task of preserving classic literature and reference books by painstakingly salvaging and repairing printing presses and copying books before they decayed completely.

 

Now select colonies trained anyone who wanted to learn how to continue the practice, even Alphas such as Rya.

 

She turns over the copy of _Little Women_ , realizing that Lia will be passing it on to her pups when the time comes. She becomes a bit melancholy as she pushes it towards her daughter.

 

“Mother?” Lia asks with concern, seeing her mother’s demeanor shift.

 

“Did you see who took the lead?” She asks, not needing to preface her question.

 

“Seth?” Lia asks needlessly. She knew. Seth, Chase and then Kip. It was no secret that Seth had his sights on Lia. She knew the time was approaching and had been up for part of the night thinking about what it would be like to be chosen by the big Alpha. She didn’t know him well, but he seemed a better choice than Prin for sure.

 

“He’s from a good family. He’s only on the other side of the colony.” Clara says with an encouraging smile.

 

“Yes. I could continue my apprenticeship?” Lia asks hopefully.

 

“Well, it would be up to Seth, I guess.” Clara says carefully. She doesn’t want her daughter to get any false hopes. The Alpha had the final say on his or her Omega mate’s jobs outside of the home. It’s just how it is.

 

She grows silent and looks out the window. “You think he’ll win it all? You sure he’ll choose me?” Lia asks, sounding every bit like the child she still was.

 

“I’m not sure of it, but it looks that way.” She says after a beat. “There are worse scenarios. You could be joined with Barth.” Her mother teases, referring to the Alpha who is known not to care much for hygiene and even when he isn’t in rut, the colony can smell him coming a mile away.

 

“Gross, Mother!” She laughs. They both share a chuckle and a shudder and then grow silent and contemplative.

 

“Kip is quite a hunter. She could win.” Lia says finally. Her mother looks at her for a long moment. It is possible for Kip to win. Neither woman had brought it up now because if Kip did choose Lia, it meant her moving away. Far away.

 

“We’ll have to wait and see, I guess.” Her mother says, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. Giving her daughter up to an Alpha in town was going to be hard enough. Giving one up that was a day’s ride from Dakota where she’d most likely not see her again…

 

“Yes, I guess.” Lia says quietly. “I’m going to lie down for a bit before the final event.” She says and her mom pats her leg gently and leans in to give her forehead a kiss.

 

“Okay, sweetheart. I’ll come wake you before we leave.” Clara says and smiles. She stands at the doorway a little bit longer, committing yet another image of her daughter to memory. She will need as many pleasant ones as she can get in the upcoming weeks and hopefully months, if she’s lucky.

 

Lia lies down, listening to her mother move slowly down the steps. She lets her mind wander, and it finally goes to the thought she’s been avoiding as she watched the leader board carefully. If Kip wins, she’ll have no choice but to go with the female Alpha. She can’t deny there was interest there, more than any Alpha she has actually spent any time with. But what kind it was, she has no idea. It could be simply that she’s a female Alpha. And perhaps she’d be eager to explore it, if Kip didn’t live so very far away.

 

…

 

“We have come to our last contest.” The announcer calls out dramatically. “The ten remaining contestants will have 12 hours, starting at midnight tonight, to bring in as much game as they can. The winner will be determined based on quantity as well as quality. The bigger and harder to kill game will be worth more, naturally.”

 

“Contestants are allowed to help each other if they choose, but you must have individual game tallies. How you work it out is up to you and any discord or discrepancies at contest’s end will have the contestants involved losing points.” Each of the contestants nod their understanding.

 

“Now go grab your hunting gear for inspection and meet back here at 11:30 for final instructions.” And with that, each contestant heads back to their campsite and gathers what they’ll need for the overnight hunt.

 

 

“Rya.” Kip calls and her brother turns and looks at her. She looks solemn and Rya has an idea what she’s about to say.

 

“Kip, I know. You must do this on your own so you can win. I understand.” He says with a small smile.

 

She knows that he knows she really wants to win and choose Lia. But she sees something else in his eyes. He looks sheepish now.

 

“I read the letter you had stashed in your bedroll from Mother… I’m sorry.” He says, looking down. She’s not upset though. Only concerned at what he thought of it.

 

“And?” She asks carefully. He looks up, expecting to be yelled at, surprised at the gentle look in his sister’s eyes.

 

“I know I was the runt in our litter. I know that you and Crit would always be the strong ones. When he died, I also knew the burden to find a strong Omega to carry on our line would fall on your shoulders.” He says with a look of sadness in his eyes. Kip takes a step to him but he holds up a hand.

 

“I think Mother’s vision… or dream… in the letter, I do think she is referring to Lia. And I do think if you don’t get to make her your mate, our kin line and colony will face dire consequences. I also think it isn’t all about breeding and rearing strong pups. You two were meant to be together.”

 

Kip looks at her brother, really seeing him for the enlightened, wise young man he is. She’d always known he was smart, but this surpasses what she’d known about his character. It wasn’t easy for an Alpha to admit these things to him or herself let alone say them out loud.

 

She has no words, only actions and she carries them out now by closing the distance between them and giving him a tight, heartfelt hug.

 

…

 

 

“Of course…” Kip grumbles angrily to herself as she runs to the large 5 point buck, pulling her knife out as Seth runs to the same animal. They get there at the same time and Seth bends to begin carving his initials in the buck. Kip knocks him back and he looks at her wide-eyed.

 

“It’s mine.” She growls and Seth stands and looks at her, confused, then menacingly.

 

“It’s mine.” He says dangerously. She points down to the two arrows in the buck’s body, his colored quiver in it’s flank, hers in between it’s ribs, right behind it’s front leg.

 

“Mine is the kill shot.” She says, with finality.

 

“I hit him first.” He counters.

 

“Yours didn’t even slow him down, I hit him in full stride.” Kip says, conceding the fact he hit it first, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is she brought it down.

 

“Do we go to the judges and waste time or do we settle it now?” Seth asks, stripping off his bow and arrow sling and tossing down his hunting knife.

 

Kip does the same and they begin to circle each other. Other hunters see what is going on and begin to gather and watch.

 

“No one move. This is between Kip and Seth.” Chase says with authority. He looks the two. “Submission?” He asks.

 

The fighters size each other up. Kip snarls as she sees Seth flinch for just a fraction of a second before shouting back to Chase, his eyes never leaving Kip’s.

 

“First to submit loses the buck.”

 

…

 

“They’re coming back!” Shayla, Lia’s friend and fellow Omega taps her hand as the rest of the colony begin making their way to the stage. It will be a while before all the contestants are back and the game tally is finalized, but they gather to see who looks the most confident.

 

“They all look a bit shocked.” Ki notes as he cranes his neck over his daughter’s head to look for his sons. He sees Chase, who keeps looking back behind him as he approaches the stage.

 

Then they see a couple of contest officials make their way to the remaining hunters. It appears two other Alphas are carrying one of the contestants.

 

“Who is it, Father!?” Lia asks, not seeing Sid in the ones that came up.

 

“I.. can’t see.” He says. “Stay here.” He commands distractedly and makes his way to the stage.

 

“Chase.” Ki calls out to his son and he turns around, still a bit pale. “Where’s Sid?” He asks, heart in his throat.

 

“He’s fine. He’s helping to carry Seth.” He says and points to where the alphas are clearly visible now.

 

“What happened?” Ki asks with concern.

 

“Kip killed him.”


	6. Worth the Effort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thanks for all the feedback and for reading! Warms my heart and lubricates my creative juices! I can't believe I just typed that!
> 
> Anyway, as I said, new to the A/B/O universe, so hopefully I'm not mucking it up too badly. I'm just writing what feels right in my own head. Let me know if there's something way off the mark or something you would like to see and I'll attempt to incorporate it if it fits within my story frame.
> 
> Oh, and if you thought Prin was out of the picture... He's not... ;)

“Let’s go down to the river so you can wash off.” Rya says to his sister gently. They’ve both just given their stories to two different contest judges and a colony peacekeeper and were told to wait there while they consult each other.

 

Rya watches as his sister goes to the river, not stopping until she’s hip deep in the water, dousing herself repeatedly to get the blood, pheromones and shock off of her.

 

She hadn’t meant to kill him. He had had her pinned with his arm across her throat, but she wouldn’t submit. She had gotten a hip out from under him and he realized she was slowly slipping out. The soft ground made it difficult for him to press hard enough to choke her out, so he reached blindly for the knife he knew was nearby, shifting his weight allowing her to escape and roll away from him momentarily.

 

In grabbing the knife, he’d foregone the rules of engagement, so when he lunged at her with it, she had every right to defend herself in kind. When he came at her again, she was ready, piercing his neck with one of his own arrows she’d grabbed when he was regaining his balance.

 

They’d all tried to save him, but the wound was too deep, the blood leaving too fast. He died inside of a minute.

 

…

 

“What happened, Father?” Lia asks when she sees her father return, a grave look on his face. He doesn’t want to tell her, but he’d rather she hear it from him than the gossip already spreading rampantly.

 

“There was a fight over a buck. Seth and Kip. Kip killed Seth, but it appears to be self defense.” He says solemnly.

 

“Oh my…” Lia says and stumbles back a bit, her hand over her mouth in shock.

“The judges are making their decision on what to do now.” Ki informs her and puts an arm around her.

 

This isn’t the first time this has happened at a strength and virility contest. When a bunch of Alphas get together to compete for mates, it’s a wonder it doesn’t happen every year. But it is still a shock. Especially when it is the contest favorite killed by the dark horse from a far away colony.

 

Lia’s about to speak when the announcer comes up on stage, shaken, but all business as she addresses the crowd.

 

“The incident during today’s final event has been cleared as a justifiable action by the contestant. We will proceed with the tallies and will announce the order tonight. Thank you for your patience and our condolences go out to the Semper Clan. Seth was a model Alpha and he died bravely.”

 

There was a low murmur as the crowd began to disperse and Lia and her father began to make their way to the games area where Clara was with their two younger boys.

 

Clara meets them halfway, a stricken look on her face. “I just heard. What happened?” She asks, looking down at her upset daughter and stone-faced beloved.

 

“Our boys are fine. Chase was there for the whole thing. Seth and Kip shot the same buck, but Kip had the kill shot. Seth challenged Kip for the buck and during the fight, Seth pulled a knife and tried to kill her. She put his own arrow through his throat.” He tells his beloved, going into more detail than he had with Lia at first.

 

“I…I’m going back home.” Lia says shakily. Will this night end with her being chosen by someone who just killed someone? Killed over _her_ , perhaps? Her head spins at the turn of events.

 

“Lia.” Clara calls after her. “Watch the boys.” Clara says to Ki as she takes off after her towards the public stables.

 

 

“Lia, are you okay?” Clara calls as she enters the house and sees Lia sitting at the kitchen table.

 

She wipes her face and looks up at her mother, who is looking at her with sympathy.

 

“Yes, I just needed to come home and be away from…” Lia begins and then sighs.

 

“I understand. Are you going to be okay for tonight?” Clara asks, wondering the same for herself.

 

“Yes. I’ll be okay. It’s just… Seth is dead. It’s surreal.” She says, wondering how Kip is. If she’s upset at what had happened.

 

“Alphas are so very competitive, to the point of well… we saw how much tonight. It is unfortunate, but this contest, we know it is much more than games to determine the top Alphas. It’s what winning represents. An opportunity to continue the strongest of kin lines and build our population.” Clara reminds.

 

“I know.” Lia says quietly. Just then the door swings open and Ki and the younger boys come in. They are inordinately quiet and Clara smiles. Ki must have told them to be.

 

“Let’s have dinner. Then we will head back.” Clara says, looking at her daughter with a question in her expression.

 

“That sounds fine, Mother. I’ll help.” She says, steeling herself against the nervousness she feels at finding out her fate in just a few short hours.

 

…

 

“Alphas, Betas, Omegas, we have come to the conclusion of this year’s Strength and Virility Contest, and though we end on a somber note, we have witnessed the very best our colony and the surrounding colonies have to offer with these 9 Alphas.” Beh announces as she raises an arm to gesture to the top 9 Alphas, all dressed in crisp white linen trousers and shirts.

 

“We ask at this time that the Omegas that have registered for the lottery to please step to the front of the stage and take their seats.”

 

Lia gives a small smile to her family and hugs her mother before she heads to the front. She and the other Omegas are in dresses, also made of the same crisp white linen.

 

“In first place with 678 points, is Huron Colony’s Kip Holt!” Beh announces with a flourish. The crowd gives a mixture of claps and gasps, but Kip is unfazed. She nods to the announcer and walks the line of Elders, grasping forearms with each and thanking them briefly for the opportunity to participate.

 

“Kip, as the winner, you may choose first.” Beh needlessly points out. Kip nods again and goes to the choosing table, taking the small piece of parchment and with a relieved sigh, writes down Lia’s name. She folds it and walks it to Beh who opens it, taking a breath before reading it aloud.

 

“Kip Holt chooses Lia Tessen as her life mate.”

 

There are murmurs and polite applause as Lia blinks a few times before absently commanding her body to stand and make its way to join her Alpha. Her mind is blank, her body moving automatically as she walks up the five steps to the stage across to a waiting Kip.

 

She feels as if she might faint until she feels strong, warm hands go to her elbows. The sensation reminds her of the first time she encountered Kip when she bumped into her at the Spring Dance. How that feels like so long ago. Kip seemed so different then.

 

“Are you okay?” Kip whispers in concern. Lia can only nod as they take their place at the opposite end of the stage, Lia not even hearing the rest of the pairings, including who her brothers chose. She could only concentrate on remaining upright and remembering to breath as her world slowly began to turn in on itself.

 

…

 

After the ceremony, Kip quickly excuses herself from Lia’s side to congratulate her brother and to quickly offer her condolences to Seth’s parents. They are upset, obviously, but understand what happened. Kip promises to sit with them before she leaves in the morning so they can hear about it from her, even though they had gotten the report. It was the least Kip could do. She knows what it is like to lose family members to something that seemed completely avoidable.

 

She returns to a quiet, wide-eyed Lia. “Shall I escort you home? We will be leaving mid-morning after I speak with the Semper clan, so you’ll need to be packed and ready to go.” Kip informs her as Lia’s eyes narrow in confusion and her mouth opens to protest. But then she remembers what her mother said and instantly looks down at her shoes and nods.

 

“What were you going to say?” Asks Kip gently. Lia looks back up, surprised at the tone of her voice. She looks at the taller Alpha, noting she is almost a full head above her. She also notices the large bruise across her throat.

 

“I… I didn’t know we’d be leaving so soon.” She offers quietly, her body language and scent telling Kip the Omega is reluctant, maybe even scared of her. Kip sighs. She’d hoped Lia would be happy about her choosing her. Perhaps she actually wanted Seth to…

 

“My responsibilities in Huron cannot wait any longer than the week I’ve been gone. I must get back as soon as possible.” She almost adds an ‘I’m sorry’, but she knows she needs to establish her position in their relationship. And that is of the Alpha who determines what happens and when. It’s what her father has always taught her.

 

“Okay.” Lia offers weakly. She will not show tears at this news, at least not in front of Kip. “I’m ready to go home now.”

 

 

Prin watches in disgust as the murdering Alpha bitch takes Lia off of the stage. If he hadn’t been injured in the first competition, he would have taken first and Lia would have had no choice but to be his.

 

He’s not giving up yet, however. A lot can happen between Dakota Colony and the Huron Colony.

 

…

 

 

Kip drives the wagon up to the Tessen barn and hops out. She’d left Rya and his mate Sada alone in the tent, not wanting to disturb the rather loud pair bonding that kept her up late in her own tent. She left them with instructions to have camp broken down and packed by the time she returned.

 

The Semper clan had been gracious and even sympathetic to Kip as she told her side of the story, which surprised her. They were devastated to lose a strong Alpha, but seemed very honorable kin, unlike their Alpha son. Still, she offered a small token of condolence, one of her personal bows and a small, wrapped section of cured meat she had not eaten during her stay.

 

She goes to tie the horses to the outside post when she overhears Lia’s parents arguing in hushed tones.

 

“You had no right to keep this from me, Beloved!” Ki says angrily, but brokenly.

 

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure until Murrah confirmed it. I didn’t want it to get out to Lia either. Understand, please.” She hears Clara reason desperately.

 

Kip thinks to walk away slowly, pretending not to hear the private conversation when Ki opens the door and storms out. His head snaps up, surprised to see Kip there. They were so involved in conversation, they didn’t hear her drive up.

 

“Kip. Welcome. Come to the house, Lia is ready.” He says, trying to put on a cordial smile. Kip nods and turns to follow him.

 

“Kip. A word?” Clara asks from behind them and Kip stops. Ki nods to her and continues to the house, head bowed.

 

Kip walks slowly to the Omega and smiles warmly. “Mrs. Tessen.” She greets.

 

Clara looks at her for a long second before pulling her into an embrace. Kip stands rigid, as it is not a common practice for an Omega to initiate this kind of contact with an Alpha that isn’t part or product of her pair bond.

 

It is then Kip smells it. Clara is sick. Very sick. She feels her arms go around the woman then in sympathy.

 

Clara steps back after a moment, face stoic now. She reaches into her dress pocket and pulls out a letter.

 

“Do not give this to her until you get word of my passing. She’ll be angry, but in time, she will understand.” Clara says, handing Kip the letter.

 

Kip nods. “I am sorry.” She says, looking at the Omega sadly.

 

“Will you love her?” Clara asks.

 

“I think I do already. Since the first time we met.” Kip admits.

 

Clara closes her eyes and smiles to herself. She’d sensed as much as she watched the Alpha’s eyes and expression as Lia ascended the steps during the choosing.

 

“Be patient with her, Kip.” She asks carefully, knowing it isn’t her place to request such a thing from an Alpha.

 

“It isn’t something we are known for.” Kip reminds, but then gives the Omega a crooked smile. “But I will try my best. I already know her to be worth the effort in the little time I’ve known her.”

 

Clara looks into the Alpha’s bright green eyes as long and as intensely as she dares. Kip stands there and lets her.

 

“Thank you.” She says simply after a few seconds. Kip nods, offering her arm as the two walk to the house.


	7. Die Trying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks for the kind comments! I hope you didn't things would go smoothly for Kip and Lia. ;)

Kip’s not much of a talker on a good day, but the silence between her and Lia is disheartening. She had hoped to use this trip to get to know the Omega a bit and have her get to know her. So far all she’s gotten is blank stares and one word answers.

 

Back at Dakota colony this morning Kip had gone outside as Lia had said her goodbyes, dutifully coming out just as Kip had finished unloading her joining offerings in the Tessen’s barn and packing Lia’s things into the wagon. She could tell she’d been crying, a lot, and had felt a stab of guilt at what transpired between her and her mate-to-be’s mother.   But she had to keep the bigger picture in mind, and that was getting home to her colony and pair bonding with Lia so that they could start their journey as life mates. She knew once the Omega settled in and saw what she and Huron colony had to offer, she would be okay.

 

“Your brothers spoke highly of your cooking.” Kip tries and is met with a tense stare. Lia seems to catch it after a moment and her face relaxes, but not quite into a smile.

 

“They are Alpha males, they eat anything.” She replies as she looks out at the plains, noting they are getting close to the river as the foliage is becoming more dense.

 

“So, your cooking is bad then?” Kip smirks and is amused when Lia turns and gives her an incredulous look.

 

“No! I’ll have you know I’ve won a couple of jam contests.” She huffs and Kip tosses a hand up in surrender.

 

“Okay… well, I love jam.” Kip says lightly, delighted when she sees just a hint of a grin from the Omega.

 

Rya rides up even to the wagon on his horse, his mate clinging to his back, marks up and down her neck. Lia looks at them, blushing slightly. She can smell the Omega’s heat from where she’s sitting. Rya’s pheromones too.

 

 

Her mother had talked to her at length last night about what to expect when she went into heat, now she was with Kip. Her heats had been fairly mild so far as she’d been pretty much sequestered from all Alphas during that time. But now, sitting next to her intended mate, smelling both Rya and Sada’s scent, she thinks her body would be more than ready, but her mind and heart? Nowhere near it. She was terrified at the thought of going into heat, and she knows it will be happening soon.

 

“We are going to ride ahead and check the bridge.” He informs his sister and she nods and gives him a wink.

 

“Check the bridge.. right…” She mutters with a shake of her head.

 

She looks at Lia and gives her a crooked grin and Lia just blushes more and turns away, staring straight ahead.

 

…

 

“We’ve got to get to them before they get to the river.” Prin instructs the two other Alpha males with him as he watches the Alpha female’s brother and his mate take off. It didn’t take much to recruit them as they were friends of Seth. He promised them the Alpha female if he could bring Lia back unharmed.

 

…

 

 

“Might as well stop for lunch, then.” Kip announces, wanting to give Rya a bit of time with his new mate. She had no desire to see her brother mating his Omega. She had been ignoring her own Alpha instincts when it came to immediately wanting to make Lia her own. It is not so hard since she isn’t in heat right now, and wanted to keep things that way until they got home. She knows catching the scent of her brother rutting and another Omega in heat would make ignoring her instincts very difficult. She didn’t want Lia’s first time to be some frantic joining in a wagon out in the open.

 

Lia nods and hops down, going to the back to grab the food provision bag and Kip begins to jump down too when she sees three Alphas on horseback, riding towards them. She grabs her bow and straps it across her chest and grabs a few arrows. She pats her side to make sure her knife is on her hip.

 

“Lia, come to the side and untie Marshall.” She says as she keeps her eyes on the Alphas, trying to get their scents, but the breeze is making it hard.

 

“What?” Lia asks, going next to her mustang, but not untying him from the wagon yet.

 

“We are about to have visitors. If it’s trouble, I need you to make a run for the river and get Rya.” She instructs. She thinks to just hop into the wagon and try for the river, but they’ll easily catch them before they do.

 

Lia comes around the front to get a look for herself. She recognizes the trio the same time Kip does.

 

“It’s Prin. Maybe they have a message or something.” Lia says and begins to walk towards them.

 

Kip shoots out a hand. “Wait.” She says, feeling uneasy about the situation.

 

Lia stays still, watching the three continue to trot towards them. When they are about fifty feet out, Kip finally catches their scent. It wreaks of adrenaline and aggression. She looks down at Lia as she stands up on the wagon bench.

 

“When the fighting starts I want you to get on Marshall and ride as fast as you can to the river. When you reach it, call out for Rya, tell him I need him.” Kip says, sparing a quick glance at the confused Omega.

 

“How do you know they’re here to…” She starts, but is cut off harshly by Kip.

 

“They are expecting a fight. They have most likely come to take you back.” _And kill me for killing Seth_ , she adds in her mind. She knew it had been too easy.

 

“Do you understand my instructions?” Kip asks impatiently over her shoulder, turning quickly to see her response. Just then an arrow flies straight over her shoulder.

 

She crouches as Lia’s eyes go wide. “Wait until I engage them, then go!” She yells as she hops down, running straight at them, nocking an arrow on the run and bringing the front horse down immediately.

 

Lia watches in horror as Prin rolls off his falling horse. For a few seconds she thinks about letting Prin overtake her. Why else would they travel all this way but to take her home, like Kip thinks? Even if it meant being Prin’s, she’d at least be in Dakota colony. She watches as Prin takes a swing with his knife as one of the other Alpha’s fires an arrow at Kip which just misses. The other Alpha jumps off his horse to surround the female Alpha.

 

 _No, Lia, you can’t. It’s wrong._ She hears loudly in her head and it spurs her to action finally. She unties Marshall but because of the commotion has a hard time settling him so she can mount him. “Easy, Marshall!” She says loudly, frantic now to get to Rya before it’s too late.

 

She finally gets in the saddle when she sees one of the Alphas clutch his throat, blood spurting from it. She looks around and sees Rya standing 25 yards away, bow at his side. He begins to run towards the fight, his mate Sada, following behind on horseback, veering towards Lia and the wagon.

 

Lia’s eyes snap back to the fight and she continues to watch Prin and Kip circle each other, each with knives out. Rya engages the other remaining Alpha, pulling him off his horse as tries to decide to fire an arrow again from horseback or join Prin on the ground.

 

“She belongs with me in Dakota!” Prin snarls as he leaps at Kip who barely gets out of the way of his blade.

 

“If you can kill me, she’s yours, but you _will_ die trying.” She growls back.

Lia’s heart is in her throat at the scene before her, not knowing who she’d rather win. She has no reason to wish any harm on Kip, but she so desperately wants to go back home. She’s ashamed immediately at her thoughts though as she watches Prin once again advance, this time catching Kip across the forearm.

 

Kip’s attention is taken off of Prin for a second as she watches Rya fall, his Omega’s keening wail echoing off the trees. In a blind rage, she rushes the Alpha that has just stabbed him and pushes her knife through his chest so hard it comes out his back.

 

Lia sits atop her her horse, frozen as she watches Prin quickly take advantage and jumps Kip from the back. The two topple over and from the corner of her eye she sees Sada running to Rya’s prone body.

 

Her eyes dart back to Prin and Kip just in time to see Kip wrap her legs around Prin’s midsection, pull his head back with one arm and pull his own knife across his throat.

 

Lia’s hand goes to her mouth in shock as Kip violently shoves the body off of herself and scrambles to Rya.

 

“Lia! Get me some cloth, blankets, anything!” She hears Kip scream desperately. It spurs Lia into action and she goes to grab what she can, presumably to stop bleeding.

 

She runs as quickly as she can coming to land on her knees next to Rya who has a large thigh wound. During her apprenticeship in working with animals she had gone through wound care. She begins to tie off the leg as Kip puts pressure on the wound itself. They work silently together to get the flow of blood slowed as Sada holds his head, weeping.

 

“We need to cauterize it quickly.” Lia says and looks to Kip who nods but doesn’t meet her eyes.

 

“Keep pressure on it, I’ll make a fire.” She barks out and runs to the wagon to grab her flint and steel and some kindling. She frantically clears a space in the brush, and with shaky hands crashes the flint and steel together until she’s got a small fire going. She runs back, pulls her knife out of the Alpha she’d killed earlier and cleans it on her pant leg as she stalks back to the fire.

 

After a few minutes, she comes back, grunting appreciatively when she sees Lia has opened the pant leg and flushed the wound as well as she could, readying it for cauterization.

 

“Hold him down.” She commands and Lia lays her own body across Rya’s. Kip brings the knife to the deep puncture wound, searing it shut as Rya’s guttural scream fills the darkening sky.


	8. I Chose You

Once they had loaded an unconscious Rya into the wagon Sada settles in next to him to watch over her mate.

 

Kip had hitched Marshall, Lia’s horse, and Jet, Rya’s horse, to the other two that were pulling the wagon and they were making good time. Lia sat next to Kip, checking Rya for fever every hour. They were not able to really clean the wound and Lia knew that they had to get him to Huron’s doctor soon or infection would set in.

 

 

The colony is smaller than Lia had pictured it, but it is beautiful. Set in a large grove of Ponderosa Pines with torches lit around the vertical log fenced in perimeter, it gave Lia an immediate feeling of comfort and safety. But she had little time to think about her first impression of her new home as Kip yells for the gate to be open and then pulls up to a single story well-built house with a long ramp in front of it.

 

“Ty!” Kip shouts as she hops out of the wagon and rushes to the door, knocking on it. The hour is quite late and it takes a moment for Ty to come to the door.

 

“Kip. What is it?” A middle-aged woman asks as she pulls a robe around her.

 

“It’s Rya. He’s been stabbed in the upper thigh. We cauterized on the road…” Kip begins as Ty rushes around her to the back of the wagon.

 

“Help me get him in and then go get Clya.” She commands urgently as she begins pulling on his legs as Kip jumps in to raise his shoulders. Sada helps too as Lia ties off the horses.

 

Once they get him into the house and on a table right in the middle of it, Kip turns to Lia. “Assist Ty please. I’ll be right back.” Lia nods as Kip rushes out the door.

 

“Wash your hands first. Do you have any medical knowledge?” Ty asks as she dries her hands and goes to a large cabinet, grabbing out what she needs for wound disinfecting.

 

“A bit. I was apprenticing for animal care and did some wound work…” She says, but isn’t sure Ty is actually listening as she begins to unbandage Rya’s wound. She grimaces at the redness.

 

“Good enough. Come here.” She says and looks up briefly at the woman. “You’re Kip’s new mate.” A statement more than question and Lia nods quickly.

 

“I take it you are Rya’s?” Ty looks warmly at the smaller blonde Omega who is currently taking up residence near Rya’s shoulder looking shaken and concerned.

 

“Y…Yes. Will he be okay?” She asks, looking down at him.

 

“If we can stop infection, he’ll be okay.” She says sincerely and sets out some tools.

 

“Ready?” She asks Lia and Lia nods.

 

“I flushed the wound as well as I could before we cauterized.” Lia supplies as Ty sets to work reopening the wound, thankful Rya had fallen unconscious again. It troubled her that he was out, but she has to take care of the wound first.

 

“Good.” Ty says as she begins cleaning and disinfecting the wound with the natural antibiotic compound she had just finished preparing earlier that day.

 

 

She is just about finished when Kip comes in with Elder Clya. “How is he?” She asks as she runs her hand over his forehead. There’s a slight fever, but it is not too bad.”

 

“I’m concerned about him being unconscious.” Ty says as she backs away from the wound and Lia steps in already prepared with a bandage.

 

“If he is still out in the morning, then it is time to be concerned. His body might just be shutting down to heal.” Elder Clya remarks after giving him a quick exam.

 

When Clya’s done she looks over at Lia who is tossing the dirty bandages into the sink.

 

“Welcome to Huron.” She says with a welcoming smile. Kip jumps in and introduces them.

 

“Lia this is my aunt, Elder Clya.” Kip says and is pleased when Lia smiles widely and bows slightly.

 

“I’m happy to meet you.” She says politely.

 

“And you. Go ahead and wash up.” She says lightly, nodding to Lia’s bloody hands.

 

“Oh, yes.” Lia says with slight embarrassment. Kip watches her for a moment before turning back to Ty.

 

“Will he be okay?” She asks, looking down at her brother.

 

“We’ll start a regimen of Echinacea and garlic. We cleaned the wound best we could. We will have to wait and see, but I think he’ll be okay.”

 

Lia turns after washing her hands and dries them on the towel by the counter. She feels Kip’s eyes on her again but can’t bring herself to look at her.

 

“We’ll be back early to check on him. Please get me if anything changes during the night.” Kip says to Ty and motions for Lia to follow her.

 

“It was nice to meet you, Lia. Good work with Rya.” Ty says warmly and Lia smiles.

 

“It was nice to meet you too.” She says quietly and then follows Kip out into the night, presumably to her new home.

 

…

 

 

The brief ride to Kip’s house is silent. Lia expects it’s because of her concern for Rya. She pulls the wagon to a stop and hops out. Lia turns to use the step but Kip is already there, hands around her waist, helping her down.

 

Lia’s breath catches at the action, but she doesn’t flinch, sliding off the bench into Kip’s space. She feels heat rise on her cheeks, but isn’t sure if it is caused by the guilt she still harbors about her thoughts during her battle with Prin or the fact she’s so close to Kip’s warm, heavily scenting body.

 

She feels a shock of cool as Kip releases her and stands back. “Here it is.” Kip says with little enthusiasm as she unlatches the door and pushes it open. She walks through the darkness and lights a couple of oil lamps. “I’ll get your things. Washroom is back there as is the bedroom.”

 

Lia just nods as Kip goes back out to the wagon. Lia walks around a bit, looking around.

The home is modest, but well built. Some of the wood looks salvaged from older pre-pandemic houses perhaps and then there’s a mixture of newly planed wood. There are colorful rugs covering a lot of the hardwood floors. It’s cozy, but could use a bit more furniture. She walks opposite to where Kip had pointed and sees two doors on either side of a small hallway that has a simple washroom at the end of it. She peeks into one and sees frames started for bunks. _For our future offspring_ , Lia realizes.

 

She makes her way back across the main room and into the master bedroom, taking an oil lamp with her. This room is fully furnished with a beautiful pine bedframe and the bed is covered with a beautiful quilt. There is a clothes closet that matches the wood of the bed and a rocking chair in the corner along with a small desk opposite the bed.

 

The washroom is a good size with the standard compost toilet and a cast iron tub with copper fixtures. She has heard some colonies had yet to develop piped water systems into their homes and she’s glad Huron isn’t one of those colonies. She notices two robes hanging up and it hits her then. The still fresh scent of lumber and pine needle insulation, the big bed and extra robe… She wonders if Kip pictured her here as she built it after having met her at the Spring Dance.

 

She hears the front door open and goes to the doorway, watching Kip carry in her trunk and bags. She notes her strong shoulders straining against the seams of her shirt, the bulge of her biceps. Her hair is in a loose ponytail, in disarray from the ride, the fight. Her eyes trail down to her strong hands as she shifts the bags to the top of the trunk, picking it back up again.

 

She scoots out of the doorway as she sees Kip bring them towards the bedroom. As Kip passes her, she sees blood seeping from a tear in her sleeve down to her hand.

 

“You’re bleeding.” Lia says and follows Kip until she sets the trunk and bags down. Kip stands upright and looks down to where Lia indicates.

 

“Prin caught me.” She says evenly and begins to roll up her shirt sleeve. Lia is in front of her in an instant, bringing her hands up to Kip’s buttons. Kip takes a half step back in surprise at Lia’s actions.

 

Her heart trips for a beat and then her face somewhat hardens. It wasn’t lost on her that she didn’t take off to get Rya when she began fighting Prin and the other two Alphas. She’d thought to just let it go, but she can’t. She wants to know what the Omega was thinking when Prin had come to fetch her.

 

“Did the right Alpha win the fight today, Lia?” She asks, low and menacing. Lia’s hands still and she looks up to the Alpha in shock. The flash of guilt that she sees in those dark eyes is all the answer Kip needs. She grabs Lia’s hands, squeezing them, just short of causing her pain.

 

“Answer me.” She growls. Lia’s head bows.

 

“I’m sorry, Kip.” Is all she says and Kip releases her hands slowly and nods. She tiredly shuffles to the bed and sits.

 

“I.. I didn’t think I’d have to leave home. Or so far from it.” Lia begins to explain. “I was scared. I am scared. I’ve never been away from Dakota Colony or my family.” She says quietly.

 

Kip sighs. She thinks about what Lia’s mom had asked of her. But she’s so tired, emotionally, physically…

 

“I understand you are scared. But I chose you as my mate, Lia. I’ve had to kill three Alphas for you.” She says, voice elevated eyes intense, pained. “My brother almost died defending you.” She adds as she stands.

 

“Be as scared as want, but we are together now, Lia. And I promise to care for you until my dying breath, but I need… I need…” She gets out, scrubbing her face in frustration.

 

“Okay.” Lia says obediently. Kip looks up at her. Before she can say another word, Lia comes back to stand in front of her and picks up where she left off, unbuttoning her shirt. Once the buttons are undone, she slides the shirt off and gently picks up her forearm. The cut is long but not too deep.

 

She guides Kip to the washroom and motions her to hold her arm over the sink. She grabs a cake of soap and a towel and begins to clean it out. Kip barely winces at the action, her eyes are locked on Lia’s profile as she gently washes away the dirt and debris, squeezing the wound slightly to get it to flush out anything that might be inside.

 

“Bandages are in the cabinet above the kitchen sink.” Kip says and Lia nods and looks at Kip for a moment before going to the kitchen.

 

She returns and carefully wraps the wound. Once she’s done, she grasps Kip’s hand. They look at each other intently and Kip can tell in Lia’s eyes she feels regret for today.

 

“The right Alpha won today. I do know that Kip.” She says quietly, her eyes earnest. “I’m sorry that your brother got hurt.”

 

She brings Kip’s arm up to her face, kissing the bandage gently, slowly. It stirs Kip’s blood and her nostrils flare. She pulls the Omega’s face to hers, intending to claim her forcefully with a deep, penetrating kiss.

 

But what she finds herself doing is slowing her approach and instead placing a gentle kiss upon her lips. When they break apart, Lia’s eyes are surprised and shiny, but not unpleasantly so.

 

She smiles shyly and Kip looks at her in wonder.

 

Time will tell if Lia is sincere in her words, but right now all Kip can think of is how much she wants to kiss Lia again.


	9. Let Me See You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lia bakes a pie, Kip's tired of waiting.

Lia wakes slowly, momentarily confused at her surroundings. She takes in the smooth pine panels and rocking chair and memories of last night come flooding back. She turns to see that the space next to her is empty. She sits up and rubs her eyes, collecting her bearings for a moment before heading to the washroom.

 

When Kip kissed her last night, she had been surprised. It was a sweet kiss and she had enjoyed it. But when it came time to turn in, she was incredibly nervous. She’d never shared a bed with anyone but her mother when she had had bad dreams as a child. She had wondered what Kip expected of her their first night together.

 

_“I will not take you against your will, Lia.” Kip says quietly as she watches Lia nervously slip into bed after having changed into a nightgown in the bathroom. Lia ducks her head, slightly embarrassed, but her sigh of relief is obvious._

_“I’m eager, but I can be patient.” Kip smiles and it puts Lia at ease. She had to admit, watching Kip bring in her trunk and just watching the way she moved with such controlled grace, she did find her attractive physically. If she was being totally honest, she’d have to say Kip’s physical appearance caught her eye the very first time she saw her._

_“Thank you, Kip.” Is all she can think to say as she climbs all the way into the bed and settles on her back. She can feel Kip’s eyes on her and turns slowly towards her._

_“Have a good sleep, Kip.” She says with a warm smile._

_“You too, Lia.” Kip returns with a crooked one of her own._

 

Lia can’t help but smile though at the memory of waking up once and realizing that Kip was a virtual furnace while asleep. She imagines that come winter, it will be quite nice to sleep next to her.

 

 _Winter,_ Lia thinks. _The future_. She knows she needs to begin transitioning from her old life to this one. From child to adult. From a pup to a mate. She also knows her fate could have been worse. She’s heard stories about Omegas in other colonies being bought and sold at young ages, their breeding abilities in such high demand.

 

Kip had been nothing if not determined to make her hers, no doubt, but she’d been nothing but kind to her. She realizes she must meet her halfway if she’s to have any kind of favorable life here in Huron.

 

When she goes out to the kitchen, she sees no trace of Kip having eaten already. _Most likely woke and went to see her brother straight away,_ she thinks. She moves around the kitchen looking to see what she had for food, realizing it wasn’t much as she had been gone a week. She wonders how their food and supplies system works in their colony, figuring Kip will show her at some point today. She decides to unpack and then go to the clinic.

 

 

She knocks gingerly on the clinic door and is surprised to see Kip answer it. She smiles warmly at the Alpha.

 

“How is Rya?” She asks as Kip moves slightly so she can enter.

 

“He’s awake, no fever.” Kip says happily. She sees that Rya was moved to a bed near the window in the corner of the room which held two other beds, obviously for convalescing patients.

 

“Good.” She says, meaning it. She walks over to the end of his bed and smiles at him.

 

“Lia, I heard you helped patch me up. Thank you.” He says with a smile, so much like Kip’s.

 

“I was happy I could help. And I’m sorry you were hurt.” She says with a frown.

 

“I had no idea that sorry excuse for an Alpha had it in him.” He grumbles, unaware of Lia’s internal struggle at the time.

 

“He had wanted to court me in lieu of competing in the contest. I had turned him down and he didn’t like that.” She explains simply.

 

“Well, he won’t be competing in anything anymore, neither will his friends.” Rya says harshly and Kip gives him a look. He shrugs and looks at her.

 

“Sorry, getting stabbed near my… stuff…” He quickly reigns in his vulgarity, “when I’m just getting to know my mate puts me in a really, really bad mood.” He says gruffly.

 

Lia can’t help it, she lets out a chuckle. Kip looks at her surprised and Rya nods towards her. “See? She gets it.” He says and gives her a conspiratorial wink making Lia blush immediately. Kip sighs loudly, not wanting to bring up mating with Lia and her brother. She is as frustrated as it is.

 

“Enough of you this morning.” She says as she stands up and reaches her forearm out to her brother. He grasps it and she gives him a nod. “Do what Ty tells you or I’ll drag your ass out of here and cut that leg off.” She says in warning and he nods at her as well.

 

“No worries. I’ve got Sada barking in my ear too.” He says with mild irritation, but his smile betrays his true feelings for the Omega who is curled up in a comfortable chair still sound asleep from keeping watch over him overnight.

 

Lia looks at her now. _How deeply bonded they already seem,_ she muses, wondering if that is the product of their mating. She puts that thought away for now, however.

 

“Ready to do a little food shopping, Lia? I’m starving.” Kip says, rubbing her belly. Lia happily nods and follows Kip to the door after saying her goodbyes to Rya.

 

…

 

 

Kip opens the door to a large building and lets Lia lead the way.

 

“This is our food storage building, obviously.” Kip says as she points out various crates of fresh produce. “We have a large root cellar underneath where everything is stored long-term and brought up daily in the morning.”

 

“A lot of the underground crops we produce, potatoes, onions, carrots…” She says as she follows Lia as she explores the shop. “The rest we trade for.” She informs her.

 

She grabs a woven basket and passes it to Lia. “Grab what you need for our meals this week.” She says lightly with a nod to the south end of the shop. “Mary will tally what you’ve got. I have a barter tab, just introduce yourself as my mate.” Kip adds casually as she takes a small handful of nuts from the dry goods bin and turns to head to the back of the shop.

 

“Oh, and get enough for three for dinner at the end of the week. My father will be joining us when he gets back from New Seattle colony.” She adds over her shoulder.

 

“Wait, where are you going?” Lia asks, trying to ignore the slight nervousness she felt at meeting Kip’s father in a few days.

 

“Root cellar. I’m going to go check our meat supply. Would you prefer venison or rabbit?” Kip asks, turning around then as she reaches the door at the back of the building.

 

“Venison.” Lia answers, watching Kip open the door with a slight shake of her head. “Guess I’m hitting the ground running.” She chuckles.

 

…

 

 

Lia hums a tune as she finishes preparing the soup for tonight’s meal. She’d found some really good bread to go with it as well, which made her immeasurably relieved. She’ll have to make friends with the colony’s baker. They were leaps and bounds better than the one in Dakota colony.

 

She hears steps on the porch and a second later the door opens and in comes Kip, stopping on the woven mat right in front of the door, filthy from head to toe. Her eyes go wide.

 

“Don’t ask.” She mumbles, irritated. “Can you grab me the basket in the washroom, please?”

 

Lia hides a smile as she does as asked. She sets it in front of the Alpha and steps back. Her eyes avert automatically when Kip begins to strip off her shirt and pants, having shucked her boots off outside. Lia goes back to adding some spices to the soup, but can’t help but sneak glances as the Alpha continues disrobing until she’s down to a very tight undershirt and briefs. Both are rather thin and leave very little to the imagination.

 

Lia swallows thickly and turns back to her slow boiling pot.

 

“I’m going to go wash up.” Kip says as she picks up the basket and sets it outside, her irritation still rolling off her in waves.

 

“Okay.” Lia says simply, turning to watch her stalk into the bedroom. She can’t help but stare as long as she can at the long, taught leg muscles and well shaped backside of the Alpha. She’d been doing that all week, but was still petrified to indicate she was ready for anything more than some simple kisses. She wonders though if she might be going into heat soon as a mild tightness develops in her lower belly. She turns back, thinking of the night before last when she’d awoken to Kip hovering over her, breathing hard, penis pressed against her outer thigh, eyes dark and wild.

 

_“Kip.” She says groggily as she turns, her nose assaulted by a flood of pheromones. It takes a few seconds to register what’s going on and Lia’s eyes widen. “Kip.” She says again, but it carries a fearful tone and Kip tears herself away, hurriedly getting dressed and leaving the bed with a confused, torn Lia in her wake._

 

 

 

Lia is finishing getting ready in the bedroom when she hears the muffled sounds of Kip and what must be her father. She slips on her shoe quickly and makes her way out, smiling politely at the very large Alpha who essentially looks like a male version of Kip.

 

“You must be Lia.” He says, with a small, polite smile as he holds out his arm. She grasps his forearm, her fingers not even going halfway around it.

 

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Holt.” She says with a wide smile, hoping her nervousness doesn’t show too much.

 

“It is Tarin. We are family now.” He says, sliding a furtive glance to Kip who studiously ignores it as she motions for him to sit.

 

Lia quickly grabs the bread and butter, setting it on the already set table. The two sit and dig in as Lia serves the soup. She’s very happy with how it turned out. She made sure to take the time to get it right. She wanted to make a good first impression on Kip’s father.

 

They eat in relative silence for the first few moments, both Alphas with shoulders hunched over and spoons busy as they alternated between dipping their bread and hungrily taking in big bites of vegetables and venison.

 

Lia smiles to herself, taking it as a good sign, until her own words come back to her, _‘They’re Alphas, they eat anything…’_ Her confident smile slips off her face just as Tarin sits back in his seat, bowl empty and bread gone.

 

“San tells me you had to chase down a buck today to finish it off.” Tarin says with a teasing smile.

 

Kip continues to chew her bite as her eyes narrow in irritation. “It happens.” She finally says after swallowing.

 

“Not usually to you.” He chuckles, knowing he’s goading his daughter. He can smell the fact she hasn’t taken her Omega mate yet and he’s both curious and concerned as to why. He hopes maybe he can get it out of her by pressing her on what happened out hunting today.

 

“Father, it happens.” She says in a way that leave him no choice but to drop it or cause a scene in front of the Omega.

 

“Sure, Kip. You are right.” He says and launches into the news of the last week and a half at Huron and New Seattle where he was helping to develop a solar water heating system for the growing colony.

 

“We’ll need someone at the library while your brother recovers.” Tarin says. He had talked with Rya about what transpired out on the ride back and plans on getting Kip alone to get more information. Like if they have to worry about retribution.

 

“I can help.” The Omega pipes up. “We have a small library at our colony that I’ve helped out in before.” She adds.

 

Kip looks at her for a moment. She actually had plans to have her help her in the archery shop after giving her a few days to settle in, but thinks the library might be a better fit for her. She did notice she had quite a collection of books she brought with her.

 

“I think that’ll work.” Kip says. “The organization system is pretty simple. Rya can explain it to you, I’m sure.”

 

Tarin watches the exchange and smiles knowingly.

 

“I’ll let Elder Clya know then.” Tarin says and begins to stand.

 

“Oh, I have dessert.” Lia says brightly and stands quickly, going to the cupboard and pulling out a pie.

 

“You baked a pie?” Kip says, eyes wide.

 

“I did. Apple.” She says proudly and cuts two big pieces and a small one for herself. Kip scrambles up to get milk from the ice-box and pours some into their empty water glasses.

 

She sits down as Lia sets the pie in front of her and then sits down herself to watch the two take their first bite. Her face flushes when Kip makes a low moan of appreciation.

 

“This is excellent.” Tarin says. “The soup was great too. Kip, well done.” He smiles sincerely.

 

Kip’s chest puffs a bit in pride and the smile that spreads across her face makes Lia’s heart trip a bit.

 

 

After dessert, Kip’s father asks to speak to her privately as Lia cleans up after their meal. When Kip returns, having seen her father off after about half an hour, she seems a bit upset.

 

“You okay?” Lia asks and Kip forces a smile saying she is.

 

“I’m going to go check on the animals.” Kip says quickly and turns and heads back out the door.

 

After making sure the pens are secure for the second time that night she walks over to the small paddock, resting her forearms on the top rail. Her mind goes over the exchange she had with San and Peet earlier that day. She knew they were just teasing her, but it struck a chord. It was the reason she missed the damn buck, having to chase him through the damn mud and mire to finish him, adding insult to injury.

 

_“I gotta hand it to you Kip, your Omega is…” Peet says, blowing out a breath. “You mate her right there on the stage or what?” She chuckles as Kip turns and gives her a glare._

_“What?” She says, hands thrown up in defense, not knowing what she said wrong. San watches the exchange and draws her brows together. She walks over to Kip and sniffs her._

_“You haven’t mated her yet?” She asks, somewhat incredulously._

_Kip turns and picks up her bow, not wanting to have this conversation._

_“She don’t like Alphas with titties?” Peet rejoins, laughing at her own words. She never did have much tact, or manners._

_“Shut up, Peet.” Kip growls as she stalks out in search of her prey. Her mind wouldn’t settle though as she kept thinking back to Peet’s words. It had been close to a week and even though Lia was being the model Omega mate during the day, at night, all she would get was a peck and a ‘sleep well’. The desire to mate with her was becoming overwhelming, not to mention the signal it sent to others when they could smell neither of them had mated. It would get dangerous when Lia went into heat._

_She sets herself against a tree until she saw a three point rustle by. She steadies her quiver and lets fly, shocked when it strikes the buck’s upper shoulder._

_“Dammit!” She curses loudly, taking off._

Lia takes a bit more time in the bathroom as she gets ready for bed and when she comes out, she sees that Kip is already in bed, her shirt off.

_I can do this_ , Lia says to herself and slowly makes her way to the bed. She takes in the small breasts, smattering of freckles and defined muscles of her chest and stomach. She allows her instincts to take over, breathing in her Alpha’s scent and feeling a flood of arousal.

 

“Your heat is coming soon, I can smell it.” Kip says lowly. “Let me see you, please.” She asks, her eyes dark.

 

Lia’s hands go to the hem of her nightgown before her mind can tell her she isn’t ready. Tonight, she will listen to her body instead.

 


	10. Turning the Corner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get out your cigarettes... ;)

Kip watches, still, as Lia slips the nightgown off of her body. She lets it fall to the floor and her eyes stay transfixed on it as she feels her mate’s eyes rake over her body.

 

“Look at me.” It’s a soft command and Lia does. Her heart swells at the tenderness in Kip’s eyes. She takes one step then another until she has her thighs against the bed.

 

“You’re beautiful. Even more than I imagined.” Kip says quietly as she pulls the covers all the way back, in turn exposing her fully naked body to Lia.

 

She takes in a breath at her semi hard cock. It’s big. Bigger than she imagined, but she keeps that thought to herself. She puts a knee on the bed and the act sends Kip’s nostrils flaring.

 

“I watched you as you undressed today, when you came in all dirty.” Lia admits a bit shyly. Kip can smile now at the incident.

 

“You did?” She asks, her voice light, playful.

 

“Yes. You’re beautiful too.” She says with a half smile that Kip finds very arousing. She holds a hand out and Lia completes the journey to the bed, coming to lie on her side a foot from Kip, facing her.

 

“I don’t know what to do.” She says, embarrassed.

 

“I think we’ll figure it out.” Kip answers with a smirk. Her eyes grow serious for a moment.

 

“I know I said I’d be patient, but with your heat coming and the other alphas… they’ll know we haven’t…” Kip starts but quiets when Lia brings a hand to her lips.

 

“I understand. Just.. be gentle?” She asks tentatively. Kip kisses the fingertips against her lips.

 

“I will. And I won’t knot you this time. We’ll go slow, easy.” She promises and reaches around Lia’s waist, pulling her closer.

 

“Okay.” Lia whispers, removing her fingers from Kip’s lips and in a bold move replaces them with her own. The kiss starts slow until Kip opens her mouth and slips her tongue against Lia’s bottom lip. Lia opens her mouth too and soon they are in a heated kiss that makes them both dizzy.

 

Kip feels herself beginning to lose control and pulls away, not wanting to get too aggressive. She looks at Lia, and sees her eyes reflecting her own need.

 

“I’d like to taste you, Lia.” Kip says and begins to kiss down her collarbone, throat, sternum, taking a moment to wrap her mouth around a taut, pink nipple, making Lia cry out in pleasure. She can’t help but smile at the reaction. She repeats it until the dark haired Omega is gasping.

 

She then continues her journey, kissing down the flat plane of her stomach to her glistening, swollen folds. She inhales deeply, instantly feeling intoxicated with desire. She pulls her tongue through her clit, moving her face away just before getting bumped in the nose as Lia’s hips come off the bed.

 

Lia’s hands find Kip’s hair and she hisses her pleasure out at the feeling of Kip’s warm tongue over her sensitive bud. She’s touched herself a little before, but it felt _nothing_ like this. Her legs spread in further invitation and Kip delves back in immediately.

 

“Kip.” She hears above her like a whispered prayer. She is enjoying bringing the Omega pleasure, but her need to claim her becomes too great. She slides up Lia’s body, kissing all the way up.

 

She situates herself in between her legs, her throbbing stiff cock already leaking pre-cum. She rises up on an elbow and takes it in her hand. She looks at Lia, waiting for affirmation. Lia nods slightly, biting her bottom lip in anticipation as her legs spread further apart, her hips canting slightly.

 

She watches her face closely as she guides the tip in and pauses. Lia responds by wrapping an arm loosely around her back and bringing her other hand to her chest. She continues pushing until she feels Lia press into her chest slightly and stays still. Lia gives her a look of concentration and shifts, taking more of her in.

 

“You okay?” Kip asks, barely able to get words out, the sensation of filling her Omega overtaking all of her senses.

 

“Yes, I can take more now.” She gets out and Kip gives her a sweet smile as she eases in until she’s fully inside. She feels Lia take a deep breath and closes her eyes at the sensation. She knows she isn’t going to last long at all and hopes she can hold herself back from knotting her.

 

She shifts slightly to be all the way over Lia, her weight distributed evenly across her hips. “I’m going to start moving now.” She says and continues to watch her mate for any signs of distress as she pulls out slightly and pushes back in. It elicits a soft sigh from her and Kip smiles as she does it again, a little harder.

 

Lia’s eyes go wide and she lets out a soft groan now. Her slick, tight walls are providing an amazing frictionless sensation and Kip begins to move her hips with a bit more purpose now.

 

“Ohh…” Lia lets out and closes her eyes for a few seconds, her tongue sweeping her lips causing Kip’s cock to twitch and her hips to rock a bit faster.

 

“How do you feel?” Kip asks, slipping her hands under Lia’s shoulders for better leverage.

 

“I’m…good..” She manages as she hikes her legs just a bit higher, eyes going wide as Kip’s cock begins to rub against the bud deep inside her. She remembers her mother telling her about the two places a woman loved to be touched down there. Kip had obviously found both.

 

“Yeah….” Kip grunts out and Lia gives her a hedonistic grin. Their eyes lock for a long few seconds as they draw out each other’s pleasure at a quickening pace. Kip feels her knot forming and begins to push in and out at a shallower pace.

 

Lia tries to pull her in with her thighs, but Kip puts a hand on one. “I can’t go deeper, I’ll knot you.” She groans out. Lia is pretty far gone, an intense tingle forming deep in her belly, but she nods in acknowledgement.

 

She begins to whimper loudly and it spurs Kip on. Her knot finally forms fully and she couldn’t push it in if she tried, so she lets herself go a bit more, pushing in until her knot stops her. It taps Lia’s clit each time she pushes in and catapults Lia into an intense orgasm.

 

Kip’s orgasm is upon her before she realizes it too and she buries her face in Lia’s hair as she grunts and thrusts uncontrollably, slamming herself into the Omega’s quivering lips. She feels her clinch around her cock milking her cum out of her.

 

“KIP!” Lia screams, holding Kip’s hips to hers as she rides her cock erratically. Her arms go around Kip’s back in a death grip, keeping her from doing much more than moving her hips slightly as she continues to cum inside the Omega.

 

After a few seconds, Kip pulls her face out of Lia’s hair and brings their lips together as their bodies begin to still. She pulls back to look at the Omega, smirking at the slightly unfocused eyes and dazed, lazy smile.

 

“That was amazing.” Kip whispers. She always heard how the first time was usually awkward and painful and frenzied. But this was…

 

“So much better than I imagined…” Lia finishes the Alpha’s thought unknowingly.

 

She pulls an arm over her eyes so that only her lips and teeth are showing. She’s still panting a bit and Kip is overcome with gratitude and awe at the pleasure she was able to give the Omega. The pleasure she just received. She also knows it was more than that. The bond between an Alpha and an Omega is much storied. She sees why now.

 

“And you aren’t even in full heat.” Kip points out and Lia’s arm slides off her face and her lips turn up into a rather shy smile and then into a feral grin when she clamps her walls down on Kip’s cock, making her shiver with delight and anticipation.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be out of town for a few days... Hopefully this chapter will tide you over.
> 
> By the way, the reception this story is getting is kind of blowing my mind. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. I guess it says a lot that most of you guys usually don't read original stories on here but are enjoying this one, so thank you! 
> 
> I had planned on roughly a 20k word story, but, you all have made me want to write more about Kip and Lia. And there are sooo many ways I can take this. I'm looking forward to continuing this if you are....


	11. Is this What it Will Be Like?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I come back to lots of great comments! Thanks so much! So glad you are enjoying Kip and Lia's adventures. Here's a bit more. I hope you don't mind more smut. ;)

Lia lies on her side, head tucked under Kip’s chin, her hand lazily tracing patterns across her breast. She smiles lazily as Kip shudders ever so slightly when she runs a finger across her nipple on occasion.

 

They had gone one more time after a few minutes rest, Lia a bit more bold and confident and Kip barely able to contain her excitement when Lia had wanted to taste her as well. It quickly became one of her favorite sensations ever, looking down at her Omega taking her into her mouth. Just the thought now makes her cock begin to lift off of her stomach.

 

“What happened to your mother, Kip?” She hears Lia ask. It’s the last question she would expect out of the Omega right now and she squeezes her lips tight as she stares up at the ceiling, amorous feeling evaporating instantly. She feels Lia pick up her head.

 

“I’m sorry. It’s the wrong time to ask a question like that.” She says, contrite but still curious. She hadn’t asked when Kip had said her father was joining them for dinner, but had made no mention of her mother. The question had drifted into her mind just then and she’d asked before thought.

 

“It’s okay.” Kip says, swallowing hard. “She died when I was twelve.” She tells her. Lia waits for the rest of the story, but it doesn’t come. She settles her head back down on the Alpha’s chest, kissing lightly before turning to rest her cheek against it.

 

“I’m sorry.” Lia says again, just barely above a whisper. Kip tightens her arm around her Omega’s back. She intends to tell her the whole story, including what happened to her brother, but now is not the time.

 

 

Morning comes to quickly for both and they grudgingly get out of bed. Kip thinks Lia’s shyness is cute when she excuses herself to use the washroom first, closing the door behind her. Kip stretches languidly and smiling. She finally understands what all the fuss is about the first joining. She’d obviously had nothing to really go by, but she was very happy with Lia and the way she reacted to her, the way Lia was with her as well. She knew they had a lot to learn about each other, but she was relived to know that the first time awkwardness was now past them.

 

 

When Kip is out of the washroom after her turn, she is greeted with breakfast already at the table. She sits down and smiles widely as Lia sets down eggs, toast and some wild berries and a cup of coffee. She catches Lia’s wrist as she sets the coffee down and pulls her into a deep kiss that makes Lia sigh happily.

 

“Good morning, my Alpha.” She purrs as she steps back to bring her own plate to the table.

 

“Good morning, my Omega.” Kip grins cockily. They eat in silence for a bit, sharing small little grins every once in a while. After finishing every last bit, Kip stands and takes her dishes to the sink.

 

“I have to open the shop early, but I’d like to walk with you to go see Rya.” She says and Lia nods, finishing up quickly and rinsing the dishes thoroughly as Kip goes to get her boots on.

 

“Thanks.” Lia smiles when she joins Kip at the door, ready to go.  

 

“I’ll just be down the street if you need anything.” Kip says as she opens the door, joining Lia on the porch after pulling it tight and latching it.

 

“Should I come back to prepare lunch?” Lia asks, not really knowing what Kip wants as a routine yet.

 

“No, that’s okay. There’s a kitchen near the library that serves lunch to the tradesmen and women, you should join Jia, she can introduce you to some other people.” Kip suggests with a bright smile.

 

“You sure?” Lia asks, hoping to see Kip mid day. She appreciates Kip’s thoughtfulness though on having her get to know others in the colony.

 

“Yep. I can come back and scrounge around for lunch.” She assures with a wink.

…

 

 

Rya had been very thorough about explaining the filing system and how he organized everything. When she joined Jia, a Beta, she felt that she could just step right in and begin helping, which she did as Jia had been without help for nearly three weeks and was a bit behind.

 

The small school where all the beta children and alpha and omega pups learned was adjacent to the library and they would routinely check out several books at a time, taking the multiple copies that were available for their reading classes. It was up to Jia and normally Rya to deliver them and pick them up and re-file them as well as check out to all the other colonists.

 

They also ran the colony’s printing press, making copies of books they already had as well as newly written ones.

 

The women work studiously throughout the morning getting caught up on checking in and filing the balance of books, making conversation as they went. Lia finds out that Jia had come from the New Seattle colony. She’d met a Huron Alpha, Karn, who was with a trading envoy. They’d been together for eight years, and had two children, each attending the school as Jia worked.

 

Of course, Lia didn’t expected to learn all of this from someone she just met, but it seems that this is part of the Beta’s personality, very open and candid. She has no problem asking Lia all about her life as well.

 

“Kip is quite a catch. A lot of the Omega women around here were bummed she decided to enter your colony’s contest.” Jia says lightly. “You must be quite a catch yourself. Of course, I can see why… You are very lovely.” The Beta offers very matter of fact.

 

Lia just blushes and smiles, not really knowing what to say. She has no idea how much Kip would want her to divulge of their lives. She tries to keep her questions to general information on the colony, trying to get some practical knowledge from Jia as well.

 

It does take some effort not to ask her about Kip’s mother though. She knows it would be a story best heard from Kip herself, when she was ready to tell it.

 

“If you’d like, after lunch, we could go over to the school and I can introduce you to the teachers. They’re wonderful and can give you a bit of history on the colony.” Jia offers.

 

“That sounds great.” Lia smiles. “Is it okay to take my lunch now? I’m to meet Kip at home.” Lia says, suddenly feeling an urge to see the Alpha. She knows she was supposed to suggest joining Jia for lunch at the kitchen, but she’s not sure she can wait another four hours to see her.

 

“Of course! See you in an hour.” Jia says with a grin, waving her out the door.

 

“Will do.” Lia says with a quick wave. She makes her way out into the sunny mid-summer day, happy to have found a friend.

 

She is so wrapped up in her head about the information that Jia had given her and getting home to Kip that she fails to notice the heads she’s turning as she walks down the road towards the house.

 

…

 

Kip closes up the shop and as she’s turning the sign around to say she’ll be back in an hour, her nostrils flare as she turns her head, surprised to see Lia heading towards her. _She’s started her heat,_ Kip realizes as her heart begins to pound.

 

She lets out a low growl when she sees another Alpha lift his nose across from her shop. He looks Kip’s way and goes back about his business. She continues to watch Lia as she makes her way closer, finally seeing Kip.

 

She’d been feeling a little funny since late in the morning and when she saw it was close to lunch, she began to feel anxious. Seeing Kip now, she realizes what was going on.

 

She quickens her steps as Kip stands still in front of the shop. When Lia reaches Kip, Kip takes her by the hand, leading her the fifty feet to their house.

 

“I think.. I think I’m in…” Lia barely gets out before Kip is nodding vigorously. Lia nearly laughs when she sees Kip’s massive erection, but it turns into a groan of want.

 

“You better get that door open before I take you here.” Kip breathes into Lia’s neck from behind. Her hand is the only one steady enough to unlatch the door, but barely. She finally pushes it in and Kip follows on her heels as she goes straight to the bedroom, her need becoming too intense to focus on anything but having her instinctual needs met.

 

“Push your dress up.” The Alpha commands and Lia quickly complies as she hooks her thumb in her underwear, already soaked at the sight of her Alpha. Kip is impatient though and before the underwear is to her knees, she bends the Omega over the bed as she fumbles with the belt on her pants.

 

Lia is pushing back against her with her soaked crotch. “I’m almost there.” She says distractedly as she shoves her pants and underwear down to her ankles and grabs her hard cock. She controls herself as best she can as she presses into the Omega, going as fast as she dares without hurting her.

 

Lia grunts and pushes her hips back, taking the Alpha in until her balls slap her clit. “Ungh…” She lets out and begins to ride Kip’s cock hard.

 

Kip tries to laugh at Lia’s enthusiasm, but she’s in too much ecstasy.

“Easy, I don’t want to knot you in the middle of the afternoon. Unless you want to explain to Jia why you were late back from lunch on your first day.” She grunts out as she slams her cock in a few more times before wrapping her hand around her base before she loses all control and knots her anyway.

 

She hears nothing but whimpers and cries from her Omega and she leans across her back grabbing her by the neck gently as she leans her head in next to Lia’s ear. “You feel so good, so wet.” She murmurs as she bites the exposed part of her neck above her dress.

 

“Uhhh…” Is all Lia can get out as her arms go to the bed to brace herself as Kip fucks her fast and hard, but rather shallowly. “I need more…” She whimpers. Kip lets go of her cock, now that her knot is fully formed. She remembers how much Lia liked having it hit her clit.

 

“Is this better?” Kip whisper grunts as she fills the Omega a bit more with her thrusts. She can feel the Omega’s juices starting to spill out around her cock and down her thighs. She closes her eyes at the sensation and puts both arms around the Omega’s waist, losing control as she pounds her pussy relentlessly.

 

Lia lets out a loud yelp as she comes. Kip doesn’t even slow down as she drives into her until she feels her cock spill. She grunts loudly and sinks her teeth back into Lia’s neck, this time bruising the flesh as she continues to pump her seed into the Omega.

 

Lia collapses on the bed and Kip just readjusts, not ready to pull out yet. She comes to her senses though when she feels Lia’s labored breath.

 

“You okay?” She asks as she sits up, but stays buried in Lia.

 

“Yes.” She says with a breathless smile. “I think I need to change my dress too.” She giggles as Kip helps her up a bit and they see the mess they made. They both stand upright and Kip tugs her cock out.

 

Her heart is still pounding hard as Lia presses against her. “You better go change then. If you stand here any longer, I’ll take you again.” Kip says and stands back, her cock still surprisingly hard.

 

Lia’s eyes go wide. “Is this what it will be like when I’m in heat?” Lia asks in wonder. The tingle between her legs is only mildly sated.

 

“Yes. I’m going to grab something to eat and go back to the shop while you change. You get something too and head back to the library. We’ll have all of tonight to finish what we started.” Kip says as she grabs the end of the sheets and wipes herself down. Lia goes in to kiss Kip, but Kip gives her a look of playful warning.

 

Lia swallows hard and does what her Alpha says. Her first day at the library cannot come to and end fast enough.

 


	12. I've Got One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could not skip their first knotting, so you get three straight chapters of smut. You're welcome. ;)
> 
> Thanks again for the comments. Be prepared for a bumpy ride in a few chapters... Just a fair warning...

Lia high tails it to the house, passing Kip’s archery shop purposely. She wants to at least get a simple meal together for dinner before Kip comes home. She imagines she can smell her from the shop, but is determined to have some kind of sustenance for her Alpha before things become too carnal to care.

 

Ignoring the ache in her own lower belly, she collects some salted pork, canned vegetables and some bread she bought on the way home, setting everything out as she hears the front door being pushed open. She looks up to see Kip in a new pair of overalls and white shirt, different than what she had on at lunch. The pheromones coming off her are almost choking and Lia’s pelvis begins to ache even more.

 

“We should eat…” Is all she gets out before Kip sweeps her up and kisses her deep and hard. She wraps her legs around her Alpha, food forgotten as she feels her rock hard bulge pressing into her.

 

They strip quickly, there’s no time or need for foreplay. The second she smelled Kip, her pussy began lubricating itself in anticipation. Kip is undressed first and helps Lia out of the rest of her clothing. Once she’s completely naked she crawls up on the bed and is barely on her back before Kip is between her legs, hard cock poised at her entrance.

 

“Yes.” Lia breathes out, hiking her legs high and wide apart. Kip slides in easily with all the moisture that has collected between Lia’s legs already.

 

Kip sighs deeply as she pushes in all the way, leaning down to press her lips and tongue against Lia’s. She pulls back to look into her eyes and almost says that she loves her, but she knows it’s too soon for the Omega to hear.

 

They’ve joined, that’s true, but they’ve yet to feel that soul transcendence that can happen when an Alpha and Omega mate. She knows it is on the horizon. She can feel it in the way the Omega looks and responds to her, but this is their first knotting, so better not to put too many expectations on it.

 

They settle in to a comfortable yet fast paced rhythm and Lia wraps her arms around Kip’s shoulders. “You feel amazing inside me.” She husks out as her eyes close for a few seconds. Kip takes the opportunity to study the dark haired beauty’s face, gazing at her long lashes, straight aquiline nose and full pink lips. She has only a small smattering of freckles that dust her nose and forehead, evidence of being in the sun quite a bit. She leans in to put a kiss on her defined jaw, giving it a little nibble, feeling Lia smile.

 

She pulls back as she feels her orgasm beginning to stir and begins to grunt her pleasure as her knot forms. Her hips pause and Lia opens her eyes.

 

“I’m knotting.” She explains and Lia quickly nods so Kip pushes all the way in, using shallow strokes as her knot forms inside Lia. Her eyes widen at the sensation of being stretched and filled even more.

 

“Oh, Kip…” She whimpers as Kip drives into her shallowly until she feels the warmth of Kips sperm filling her. Kip’s head has dropped down onto Lia’s neck as she moans out her release, shuddering against Lia’s pussy until she feels herself empty.

 

She stills as Lia turns her head into Kip’s ear and kisses it.

 

“We must stay like this until my knot goes down.” Kip says, somewhat shyly through Lia’s hair and Lia just smiles.

 

“Yes, we could be like this for up to an hour.” Lia recalls her mother’s words.

“You didn’t come though.” Kip says, obviously bothered by the fact as she pulls her head up and looks at her Omega with guilt in her eyes.

 

“That is very un-Alpha like to notice.” She giggles, recalling more of her mother’s words.

 

Kip just grins and lifts herself up on one arm and reaches between them with the other until her thumb comes into contact with Lia’s engorged clit. She begins to rub it in slow circles until she has Lia moaning loudly and freely.

 

“A little faster, please.” Lia breathes out erratically as her hips undulate as much as they can with Kip still buried deep inside. Kip’s eyes widen when she feels her cock stir again and suddenly she’s breathing heavily with another impending orgasm.

 

“KIP!” Lia shouts as the Omega comes hard, pulling on Kip’s knot slightly. Kip moves as much as she can to get friction to her tip and then they are coming together, chest’s heaving, moans intermingling.

 

“Oh….” Lia sighs happily, again feeling Kip’s warm seed hit her cervix. Kip removes her hand from her clit and presses hard down on it with her pubic bone, making Lia shudder with aftershocks.

 

Lia pulls Kip down for a deep kiss and tells her to rest on her for a moment. When she gets too heavy, Lia snakes a hand between them and pushes her up, making her chuckle.

 

“I better make sure my shoulders and forearms are in good shape from now on.” Kip says as she props herself up for what could be an hour.

 

“You are in fine shape, Alpha.” Lia says dreamily as she brings a hand from Kip’s strong jaw to her collarbone, over her bicep and to her chest.

 

Kip smiles proudly. “Thank you. As are you.” Kip says sincerely. She smiles down at her Omega and they enjoy a few seconds of contented silence just looking into each other’s eyes.

“Tell me a funny story about when you were a pup.” Lia asks lightly and Kip screws her lips and squints her eyes in thought. The exaggerated expression makes Lia laugh which in turn sends a shockwave through both of their pubic areas.

 

“Whoa.” They both say simultaneously with wide eyes.

 

“That’s interesting.” Lia observes as Kip nods slowly with a lopsided grin.

 

After a beat, Kip nods. “Alright, I’ve got one…”

 

The story is more poignant than funny and it is the way that Kip reveals that she had had another brother. Lia listens intently, realizing there is so much more to her Alpha than she imagined and she finds herself very much looking forward to learning more about her new mate as time goes on.

 

 

 


	13. Her Story to Tell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst warning ahead... Thanks for the comments and for reading!! :)

“Rya! You’re up and around!” Lia exclaims happily as she sees him crutching through the front door of the library. She and Jia were just helping one of the teachers pick out some books for their upper age students.

 

Rya smiles as he makes his way to the table, having a seat as he had walked all the way from the clinic.

 

“You look like you are doing well.” She says as she comes to sit by him, putting a hand on his shoulder. She still feels guilt at him getting hurt because of her.

 

“I am. Thanks to you and Ty, and Sada of course.” He says with a wide smile. “Jia says you’ve done well in my place.” He commends.

 

“I’ve learned a lot. I’m just glad I could help.” Lia says sincerely.

 

“Well, there’s a place here if you want it. But Kip was making noise about how she needs help in her shop. Not as interesting as the library though.” He teases.

“If my Alpha needs me, I’m there.” Lia says with her own teasing grin, although she does mean it. Since their joining and especially their first knotting, she finds herself craving Kip’s company all the time.

 

Rya gives her a bright grin. “So I take it you’re settling in okay?”

 

“I am.” She says warmly. “Well, I better get back to work. You just coming to visit or are you back on?” She asks.

 

“Just visiting today, but I can start back day after tomorrow, Ty says.”

 

“Alright. Well, I’ll let Kip know I’m all hers then.” She says and then realizes what she says and blushes a bit.

 

Rya just winks at her and waves her own. “Sounds good, Lia.”

 

…

 

After lunch, Lia has a bit of time to herself with all the books checked in and put away. She is drawn to the ‘Local History’ section and sees plenty of leather-bound books with dates on their spines. She pulls one out at random and opens it up.

 

 ** _“January 1, 2195 to December 31, 2195, Huron Colony, contributors: Clya Rainborn and Risa Holt.”_** Lia reads quietly to herself, the last name catching her eye. “I wonder if that is Kip’s mother?” She wonders aloud.

 

“Yes, it is.” Jia says, having overheard the Omega. Lia turns to her and Jia steps towards her a bittersweet smile on her lips.

 

“She was one of our best Elders.” She says with reverence. She looks at Lia who has a puzzled, intrigued expression.

 

“Has Kip told you about her?” Jia asks, guessing she hasn’t much based on Lia’s expression.

 

“She told me she died when she was twelve.” She responds.

 

“Well, if that is it, then I should not be the one to tell you more. I’d only been here for a little over two years… the entire colony took her passing very, very hard… Crit’s too.” She says with a frown.

 

“That was Kip’s brother.” Lia says, more a statement than a question. Again, she knew he died, but knew none of the circumstances surrounding his death either.

 

“Yes.” Jia says with a sigh. She pulls the book marked _Year 2199_ and hands it to Lia. “This one tells the story of what happened, but I suggest you talk to Kip about it first.” Jia says cryptically as she nods at the book she just put in Lia’s hand. She smiles sadly and walks back to the desk, leaving the decision up to LIa.

 

Lia looks down at the book and sighs, putting it back in it’s place. She picks up the one she’d originally pulled out and sits down at the table, putting aside what Jia had just told her for now and quickly becoming engrossed in the stories of Huron colony, eloquently written by Clya and Kip’s mother.

 

…

 

 

Now that her heat is over and she’s feeling more herself and not some sort of needy mating-fiend (not that she minded when she had Kip to herself in their own home), she is happy to stop by Kip’s shop on the way back from her day at the library. She smiles as she watches her Alpha repair a bow for a male Alpha pup, no more than six years old.

 

“Alright Sian, no more using your bow to catch your cat, okay?” Kip explains playfully as she ruffles his dark locks.

 

Lia suddenly gets a vision of Kip with one of their pups and she feels a tickle in her belly. Her eyes go wide slightly at the realization that she could be having a litter in a little over 8 months if they had in fact conceived. As much as they had mated, she’d be shocked if they hadn’t. She bites back a blush as Kip spots her near the doorway.

 

“Lia, come meet Sian, San and Freya’s pup.” Kip says, all smiles.

 

“Hello, Sian.” She says bending to shake his hand. He turns to San and Kip eyes wide.

 

“You are right, she is really beautiful.” He says with awe, making the two Alphas laugh and Lia blush.

 

“Well, thanks, Sian.” Lia manages through a modest giggle. She stands upright and looks at Kip as she grins roguishly.

 

“Alright, well, Freya will be wondering where we are. Thanks, Kip. Nice to see you, Lia.” San says and waves to the mates as she guides her son out with his repaired bow.

 

“He’s cute.” Lia says after they are out of earshot.

 

“And has big ears.” Kip mumbles as she pulls Lia into her. “How was the library?” She asks as she gives the Omega a kiss.

 

“It was good. Got a visit from Rya. He’s good to go the day after tomorrow.” She reports.

 

“So you can help me in the shop?” Kip asks eagerly. It would give her some time to hire a permanent helper if Lia could help with the day to day stuff like fulfilling orders and organizing trade items brought in.

 

“Jia said she can manage on her own until Rya is back. So as of tomorrow morning I’m all yours.” Lia smiles.

 

“Just starting tomorrow?” Kip teases as she bends to capture Lia’s lips. Lia pushes her away at her chest.

 

“Easy, Alpha. I actually want to eat dinner at a normal time.” She giggles as she slips out of her arms, heading to the back door, her Alpha following her with a playfully frustrated growl.

Kip isn’t surprised that Lia picks up how the shop runs with ease. If she thought that Lia would be interested in helping permanently, she wouldn’t even bother looking for someone to hire, but she knows this is not where Lia’s passion lies.

 

As they worked side by side, Kip learns about Lia’s time as an animal care apprentice and even though she doesn’t say it, she knows she’d like to continue. She makes a mental not to talk to Shep, the Alpha male that is in charge of the animal clinic. Any of the trades would be lucky to have a quick mind like Lia’s, she figures.

 

In the two weeks Lia’s been at the shop, she’s really been enjoying working with her mate. She loves to watch her work at her craft table, paying great attention to detail on each item. Her craftsmanship is well known in most colonies in the surrounding areas, she finds out from the several traders that come through for the end of summer hunting season.

 

She tells her funny stories of hunting with San and Rya and her father. Every once in a while a story about Crit will be slipped in and Lia has to hold her tongue as to not press Kip about what happened. She begins to wonder if Kip will ever tell her.

 

 

One night, after dinner when they are settled on their couch, snuggled up, each reading a book, Lia tries one more time to get the story of her mother and brother out of Kip. She sets her book down and turns against the Alpha’s chest. Kip slips her bookmark in her book and wraps her arms around her, sensing she wants to talk.

 

“I saw that your mother was a writer for your colony’s history journals.” She brings up cautiously. She swears she can feel Kip’s heart skip a beat. She remains quiet as she waits for a reaction, a response. It comes a few seconds after feeling the Alpha sigh.

 

“She was. A good one too. The books are there for posterity, of course, but she had a gift.” Kip says wistfully. The Alpha goes quiet again and Lia frowns into Kip’s chest, disappointed.

 

“She and my brother were really special. I miss them a lot.” She says finally. Lia lets the silence fall around them for a good minute before lifting her head from Kip’s chest and looking at her with warm, concerned eyes.

 

“Jia gave me the book that told of what happened.” She says quietly. She feels Kip’s heart beat increase as her lips tense. “I didn’t read it.” Lia says quickly, seeing how upset Kip is becoming. “I want to know what happened Kip, but only when you are ready to tell me.” She says sincerely.

 

Kip relaxes and her heart rate levels out. She pulls Lia’s head down to kiss it in response.

 

“Let’s head to bed.” She says after a beat and Lia slides off of her and stands, reaching her hand to help the Alpha up. She accepts it and they head to bed, silent and contemplative.

 

 

Late that night, Lia awakes to an empty bed. It doesn’t take but second to locate Kip, she’s sitting in the rocking chair, next to a low-lit lamp, reading a letter. The flame plays off Kip’s face and Lia can see the glistening of unshed tears in the corner of her eyes. She watches the normally strong, stoic Alpha read the letter, mouthing the words and then slowly closing it up and walking to the dresser they shared, putting it deep in the bottom drawer where Kip’s winter shirts were.

 

Lia quickly closes her eyes as Kip returns to put out the lamp and crawl back into bed. After a second and a few sniffles from the Alpha, Lia feels her move towards her and wrap her arms around her, holding her tight.

 

Lia waits a few moments and then sleepily asks if Kip is okay. Kip, takes a moment to answer and Lia feels guilty for watching her without her knowledge.

 

“I’m okay. I love you, Lia.” She says so quietly, Lia isn’t sure she heard her right. Instead of responding though, she pushes back into the Alpha’s chest, pulling her arms even tighter around her as Kip nuzzles her ear.

 

…

 

For two weeks since seeing Kip reading the letter, Lia has walked by the dresser and had been tempted to look into it, but has talked herself out of it. With Kip out all day on a hunting trip, she can no longer stand it. She kneels and opens the drawer and fishes around until she feels paper. She tugs it out and realizes it is sealed. Her brows furrow as she turns it around, her eyes going wide as she sees her name written on it - in her mother’s writing.

 

Without thought, she tears open the envelope and begins to read. Her face immediately turns hot and her breathing becomes erratic. She stands so fast that her head becomes dizzy, but it doesn’t slow her down as she goes to the armoire and grabs one of her bags and begins to throw clothes into it.

 


	14. Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Kip....

Kip slows as she passes through the colony’s entrance, mind going through what she wants to say to Lia. After talking with San and thinking about her confession of love a couple of weeks ago that Lia may or may not have heard, she realizes that she needs to open up to the Omega about her mother and brother and even about her part in their deaths.

 

She knows the guilt and regret she harbors will not ever go away, but perhaps if she shares it, it might lessen. She’s also been thinking a lot about Lia’s mother and what she had promised her. She wonders about the wisdom of it now, as she’s been thinking a lot about losing her own mother. If she could have seen her mother one more time before she passed, wouldn’t she move heaven and earth to do it?

 

So, she has decided to tell Lia the whole story of what happened to Risa and her brother Crit, and to suggest a visit to Dakota colony to see her family, consequences be as they may. With her assistant Lope working well in the archery shop, she feels she can get away for a few days. The only thing she isn’t so sure of is the reception she’ll get if she goes back to Dakota colony.

 

It’s been a little over a month since Prin and his friends had attacked Kip and Rya, and if any of them talked before leaving, there’s bound to be a few people that will put two and two together, especially if they found their bodies. But, it’s a risk she’s willing to take to have Lia see her mother one last time.

 

After dropping off her game to the butcher, she makes her way to the barn. She slips off her horse and brings him inside, noting that Lia’s horse, Marshall, isn’t in his stall. It’s pretty late and she can’t imagine Lia had taken him for a ride. She ties her horse off quickly and goes to the house.

 

She feels a sense of dread the moment she walks in and there’s no sign of her mate. She rushes into the bedroom and sees the letter her mother had written for her, opened and lying on the bed. She also sees drawers half opened and one of her bags gone. She grabs the letter and scans it. Sure enough, it was meant to be read when the Omega’s mother had already passed away, just like she’d told Kip. Kip can only imagine what Lia must be thinking, how she felt discovering that letter before she was supposed to.

 

“Dammit.” She curses and takes off out of the house and runs to the barn. She has no idea when Lia left. It could have been that morning for all she knew. The idea of Lia riding the distance on her own makes her stomach churn and her chest tighten.

 

She rides her horse to the watchman’s house and asks the person on duty if she’s seen Lia. When she answers that she thought she saw her riding off alone at the beginning of her shift four hours ago, Kip thanks her profusely. It gives her a window of time to catch her. Without another word, she takes off in the direction of the Dakota colony at blinding speed, praying nothing has happened to her in those four hours alone on the plains.

 

…

 

 

Lia’s head is on a swivel at every noise she encounters. She is on the other side of the river now and getting close to where Prin and the other Alphas met their demise. Worry at being out alone at night forgotten, she clinches her teeth and once again wonders if she should have just let them take her back.

 

Her mother is dying. She might already be dead, and Kip knew all about it. She had to, the letter indicated as much. She is angry at Kip, at her mother for not telling her, and angry at how she felt powerless to make any decisions on her own. Brought up to be a prized possession to be claimed or won in a contest. Expected to breed offspring with no choice in the matter.

She had dreams of continuing to help in the animal clinic in Dakota colony and at least raising her pups along side her brothers’ pups, where she could go to her mother for help and guidance. Instead she was ripped out of her home, never to return again, at least not when her mother was still alive.

 

To think she was actually beginning to really feel something for the Alpha with the tough exterior but sweet nature. She felt like a fool. She was nothing but a means to an end to the hunter from the dwindling Huron colony.

 

…

 

Kip rode blindly into the night, staying on the path as best she could at a speed that would run her horse ragged sooner rather than later. She had to get to Lia. To explain, to beg forgiveness, to make sure she is safe…

 

 

She has been riding hard for four hours, resting her horse as much as she can without losing too much ground. She’s exhausted, worried and starving, having not eaten since a late breakfast with San at the hunting grounds. She hopes that Lia had perhaps stopped to eat at some point. She refuses to believe anything else would hold up or stop her progress though.

 

 

She continues on another mile or so, roughly halfway to Dakota when she sees what she thinks is a horse and rider about one hundred feet away. She slows, approaching quietly. When she sees the markings of Marshall, she breaths out a sigh of relief. She and her horse are drenched with sweat from the exertion and warm mid-summer night air.

 

She calls out so she doesn’t frighten the Omega, not surprised when she doesn’t stop or turn around.

 

“Lia! Please, let me explain!” She shouts desperately as Lia kicks her mustang into a faster pace.

 

She’s not sure how much more she can push her horse without him collapsing. “I’m sorry about the letter. Your mother made me promise to keep it and give it to you when…” She can’t bring herself to say it. “It was a mistake! To keep it from you!” She tries, her voice breaking at the effort of trying to be heard as she slips further away.

 

Her horse has refused to move one step further, so without thought, she jumps off and begins running. Her legs are numb and she’s not sure how she’s even moving, but she is. She’s gotta keep moving, she has to make Lia understand.

 

…

 

Lia is startled for a second as she hears a rider approaching her, but breathes a sigh of relief when she realizes its Kip. She isn’t surprised that she chased her. She is surprised she caught up with her this early. When she’d left there was still plenty of daylight and new Kip would not return until sundown.

 

She can hear Kip shouting. She doesn’t sound mad, like she figured she would be, she sounds distraught. When she turns to see Kip jump down off her horse and begin running at her on foot, she almost stops and lets her catch up, but her anger is too much, her pain at being kept from her dying mother too great. She continues on, planning to deal with the Alpha once she’s seen her mother. _She better still be alive,_ she thinks as she prods Marshall on just a bit faster.

 

…

 

After walking and jogging for another two hours, her horse lazily following behind and grazing, Kip is finally able to mount him and continue on, albeit at a more reasonable pace for the horse. She reaches the Dakota gates a couple of hours before dawn and nearly collapses as she reaches the Tessen barn.

 

She’s so tired and out of it, she doesn’t see or hear the two Alphas until they are upon her, tackling her to the ground and tying her hands and feet, dragging her off.

 

…

 

Lia had made it to her family’s home late into the night and the shock and utter glee on her brother Sek’s face made her nearly break down right then and there.

 

“Sek, is Mother…” She starts after giving him a tight hug and his eyes go straight to his parents’ room. She closes her eyes in relief and pats his head as she makes her way in, directly to their room, forgetting it’s in the middle of the night and her visit is unexpected.

 

She wakes her father first who nearly jumps out of bed in surprise.

 

“Lia!” He exclaims and then calms as he looks over to where her mother is laying. He slowly slips out of bed and lights a lamp. All the commotion doesn’t even wake her and Lia can immediately tell she’s sick. She walks over to her side of the bed and kneels as her father fumbles for a pair of pants to slip on. He joins her in a chair that is set up near the head of the bed.

 

“I didn’t know…” Lia say, looking over at her father. His eyes are sunken in and he looks ten years older. “Why didn’t you tell me?” She asks through tears.

 

“Daughter, she didn’t want you to know. I barely found out the day before you left…” He says, voice quiet, tired.

 

“I could have… taken care of her…” She continues, taking her hand, noting how thin and cool it is.

 

“She wanted you to start your life with Kip without her being a burden.” He justifies. They’d spent nights awake talking about it. He knows his mate’s wishes very well.

 

They both turn as they hear a changing in the older Omega’s breathing followed by a weak gasp. “Lia?” She asks, eyes cloudy and unfocused.

 

“Yes, Mother, it’s me.” Lia says through her steady stream of tears.

 

“How? Why? Where’s Kip?” She asks, immediately upset the Alpha had not kept her promise. Ki puts a hand to her shoulder.

 

“Beloved, relax.” He soothes.

 

“I… I came by myself.” Lia says. Ki looks at her now, his turn to be upset.

 

“Kip let you travel all this way by yourself?” He asks, angry at the Alpha’s neglected promise to keep his daughter safe.

 

She bristles at the fact no one seems to think she can take care of herself. “I found Mother’s letter…. Your letter..” She addresses both of them with her own upset tone. “I got so angry she kept it from me. I packed a bag and left before she returned from a hunting trip.” She explains, realizing her actions might have been a bit extreme. Still though, they had no right to keep the truth from her, keep her from making her own choices about what was best for her.

 

“Ki, can you give us some time?” Clara asks, raising her hand weakly as her Alpha takes it and nods.

 

He gets to the door before turning to ask, “Does Kip at least know where you are?”

 

At the question, Lia feels a minor stab of guilt. “She does. She’s probably not too far behind. She caught up to me, saying she would explain, but I took off.”

 

“How far behind was she then?” He asks, voice elevated with alarm. It makes Lia turn and look at him, puzzled.

 

“I don’t really know. I think she ran her horse until he wouldn’t any more.” She drops her head really feeling bad now. “She was running after me after that.” She finishes quietly.

 

 

His lips go into a taut line and he leaves quickly before Lia can ask what’s wrong. She feels her mother squeeze her hand and her attention turns back to her mother.

 

“I made Kip promise not to tell you. She didn’t like it. Perhaps it was unfair of me.” Her mother says weakly. “She told me she loved you and promised to take care of you. I told her you would be mad when she gave you the letter after word got to you about my death, but eventually you’d understand.” Her mother says ruefully.

 

She begins to cough uncontrollably and Lia goes to get the water cup off the table but her mother waves her off. Lia comes back to sit down and holds her mother’s hand until she can pull in calming breaths. When she does, her voice is stronger than before, her eyes focused intently on Lia’s.

 

“Listen to me, Daughter. I need you to be strong. I need you to carry on the Tessen line, but as a Holt, do you understand? You’re going to go on and have an amazing life. It won’t be easy and you’ll have some painfully bad times, but I know you will be an excellent mother and Kip will be doting, protective and she’ll love you and your little ones until her dying breath. Give her the chance, please? For me?” Clara asks of her daughter.

 

Lia studies their linked hands, continuing to blink back tears. “How can you predict any of that? How do you know Kip will do and be what you say?” She asks, desperate to know, to believe.

 

“I can predict it because I’ve lived it.” She says simply. And as for Kip, I know because despite the high risk of her being arrested on the spot, she followed you here.” She gives a weak, knowing smile and then reaches down and places her hand over Lia’s belly. “And as for the mother part, I know that in about seven months, you’ll be welcoming your firstborns.” She says as she taps her nose with a finger, indicating her change in scent.

 

“What do you mean arrested?” Lia asks a beat after taking in her mother’s words about her pregnancy.

 

“When Prin and two of Seth’s close friends went missing, some Alphas went searching. It wasn’t hard to figure out whose arrows were found at the scene.” She says matter of fact. Each hunter had very distinct quiver patterns and of course Kip’s were already known because of what happened to Seth. “Prin’s father has been pushing to get the council to bring Kip in. It doesn’t matter if it was self defense, which I imagine it was.” She says, her lips turning down into a worried frown as Lia’s eyes widen.

 

She hadn’t even thought of that as she left, even though she remembers Kip telling her father they had forgotten a couple of arrows in their haste to get Rya back to the colony and there was concern about the arrows if the bodies were found.

 

“Oh no.” Lia whispers as she gets up to pace, wondering if she should go find her father. A few moments later, they hear a commotion at the front door and then Ki comes rushing into the bedroom.

 

“I just found Kip’s horse outside our barn and drag marks that lead to cart wheels. Sek saw it drive away. I think Prin’s brothers might have her.” He says, his eyes wide and as worried as Lia has ever seen them.

 


	15. The Silver Lining

Everything hurts. That’s the first thing Kip realizes when she comes to. Her face, her hands, her ribs, her legs… She opens her eyes slowly, only one will open all the way. She’s on her side, on a dirt floor and she can make out that she’s in a cell of some sort. The last thing she remembers is getting to the Tessen barn after chasing after Lia…

 

“Lia…” She mumbles wetly, her jaw not cooperating. She tries to sit up, but her ribs protest too much.

 

“You calling for your Omega whore, Alpha?” She hears someone sneer from a darkened corner, outside the bars. She cranes her neck to see but can’t. The voice triggers something in her memory and a bit comes back, like being tied up, her hands then her feet… and then pain. A lot of pain.

 

“Where…” She tries to get out. She hears the creaking of a chair and then heavy feet shuffling towards her. She then sees a tall Alpha, older than she, but not by a lot. He looks a lot like Prin.

 

“You’re in a holding cell for now. You’ll be strung up for killing my brother by noon, you Alpha cunt.” He says to her as if he’s giving her the weather report.

 

She can see weak sunlight coming from the small mortar cracks between the bricks. She has no idea how long she’s been here, could be a few minutes, hours, days, she has no idea.

 

Suddenly there’s a loud commotion outside the building and then the outer door is pushed open and sunlight streams in, making Kip’s eyes water. She tries to duck her head, but it hurts too much.

 

“Oh my…” She hears a male half whisper in shock from the doorway and then he’s on the Alpha male, shoving him against the bars until dust shakes from them.

 

“Your brother said you arrested her! You nearly beat her to death!” The man shouts. Kip realizes it’s Lia’s brother, Sid.

 

“She resisted.” He squeezes out through his restricted airway as Sid has his forearm against it.

 

“We are taking her to infirmary.” Sid growls out as he holds the Alpha against the bars. Chase goes to the wall and retrieves the keys, quickly unlocking the door and opening it. He kneels down next to Kip and puts a gentle hand on her shoulder.

 

“Kip? We’re going to get you out of here.” He says, his voice full of concern.

 

“She isn’t going anywhere.” The Alpha says as he straightens his clothes from the altercation after Sid lets him go.

 

“We’ll get the magistrate to post a guard outside the infirmary until this whole thing is settled. Your family is not to come near her. Elder Clark’s orders.” Ki says as he walks in and hands a letter to the eldest of the Booth brothers that Sid had against the bars.

 

He looks to challenge the older Alpha, but Ki’s eyes are hard, threatening and the younger Alpha lowers his eyes and steps out of the building, presumably to go get his father.

 

“They really worked her over.” Chase says and then Ki is in Kip’s line of vision as he bends to look her over. He hisses low as he sees the amount of damage done on the outside. He can only imagine internal injuries as he sees dried blood in her ear and from her nose and mouth.

 

“Resisted my ass, look at her wrists.” Sid says with disgust noting the broken, raw and bleeding skin in the shape of restraints.

 

“Kip? We have to get something to put you on. Hold tight.” Lia’s father says with a sympathetic tone. Sid stays with her as the other two go grab a litter from infirmary.

 

“What..happened?” Kip has to mumble twice before Sid understands her.

 

His eyes go a bit wide at the question. “You don’t remember anything?” He asks. She moves her head slightly to indicate a ‘no’.

 

“Cal and Jet took you outside our barn and by the looks of it, tied you up and beat the shit out of you somewhere before bringing you to this holding cell. We’ve been looking for you for hours.” He says.

 

“Lia?” Kip asks in concern, trying to curl into herself as the pain really begins to take over.

 

“Lia is fine. She’s with Mother. We’ll get word to her after we get you out of here.” He informs her.

 

“She… found out…” Kip tries to explain, but it’s too hard to get her mouth to work.

 

“Don’t try and talk, Kip. I think they broke your jaw.” Sid says. He looks up as Cal watches from outside the building, a look of pure hatred in his eyes.

 

“They arrested you for killing Prin and two of Seth’s friends, Pete and Sel. Lia confirmed to us what we all thought had happened out there though and will have her statement to the Elders later today. You won’t be punished for an act of self-defense.” Sid says loud enough for him to hear. “If anything, you can have Prin’s brothers arrested for assault.” He adds as he pins him with a pointed stare.

 

Chase and Ki are back with the litter just as Cal stomps off, knowing anything else he does will get him into more trouble than he might already be in.

 

 

It takes ten minutes to get Kip on the stretcher and bring her to infirmary. The amount of pain she is in is troubling to the Alpha father. Besides the cuts, bruises and obvious broken jaw, he knows there to be head trauma and internal injuries based on the amount of bruising to her ribs and the bleeding from her ear.

 

Once they have her settled with a doctor and two nurses beginning to assess her, the three make their way outside.

 

“I talked to Magistrate Larson. He had no idea what the Booth brothers were up to. He had deputized them when they went in search of Prin.” Ki explains as to how the Alpha brothers had access to the cell.

 

“They must have seen Lia come in and went in search of Kip.” Sid muses as to how they could have tracked Kip down so quickly upon entering the colony.

 

“I’m surprised they didn’t just kill her.” Chase says as he scrubs his face.

 

“Their father stopped them.” Ki supplies. “Sid, why don’t you go let Lia know we found her, but tell her she can’t see her yet.” Ki says as he turns to his son.

 

“What exactly do you want me to tell her?” He asks, knowing his sister can be very stubborn and would want to know why. She’d also been very upset, worried and filled with guilt when they’d found out she’d been taken by Prin’s brothers.

 

“Just tell her she can only have one visitor for now and I’ll be there soon. I’ll.. explain what happened to her then.” He says and his son nods and heads off.

 

…

 

Lia sits by the window in her parents’ bedroom, watching out for Kip and her brothers and father as her mother studies her. She’s just woken from a nap and sees her pensive daughter perched at the window.

 

“You love her.” She states, straining to be heard across the room. Lia turns and looks at her with surprise but Clara can’t tell if it’s because of her words or the fact she’s awake.

 

She looks down at her hands for a moment. “I was getting there. Things were going really well. Then I found your letter.” Lia says quietly. “I was so angry she kept that from me. Kept me from you.” She says, looking down at her hands in her lap.

 

“I asked her to. Made her promise. You can’t fault her for that.” Clara tries to reason with her.

 

“When she caught up with me, I heard her say that she’d made a mistake in keeping it from me.” Lia says, biting her lip. “I know she lost her mother when she was young…” Lia continues, talking more to herself than to her mother. Clara’s eyes widen. She hadn’t known that. She wished she had.

 

“Listen, what is done is done. You need to find a way to forgive her, even if it wasn’t her fault.” Her mother says as she looks at her daughter intently. Her gaze slips to her own hands though as she ponders whether it was a good idea at all to put that on Kip’s shoulders, even if she didn’t know that Kip had lost her mother. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have asked that of her.” She says with a frown. She then gives her daughter a rueful smile. “Or perhaps I should have taught her how to hide things from you better.”

 

That gets a pained smile from Lia as Clara opens her arms, propelling her daughter out of her chair and into them. She hugs her as tight as she dares and lets her tears fall. “Well, the silver lining in this whole thing is that at least I got to see you one more time.” She mumbles into her mother’s neck. Clara’s hands go tighter around her daughter.

 

“I can’t argue with that.”

 

The women are interrupted by a knock on the open door. The women turn to the sound to find Sid rocking on the balls of his feet.

 

“We found her.” He says quickly.

 

“Where?” Lia asks, pulling away from her mother and approaching her brother, ready to follow him to where her mate is.

 

“She’s.. You can’t see her yet.” Sid stumbles. He’s always been a terrible liar. _Why did Father send me?_ He thinks as his sister’s eyes narrow.

 

“Where is she?” She asks again, this time with a ‘don’t lie to me’ tone.

 

He sighs. She’s gonna find out anyway. “In the infirmary.” He says finally. “Father will be here in a little while to…” is all he gets out before she is heading for the door.

 

“Great.” He sighs again and looks at his mother with a shrug before following his sister out to the barn.

 

“Here, take mine, he’s already saddled up.” He says as she turns directions and follows him to his horse. He helps her up and she gives him a last glance before charging off towards the center of town.

 

 

She pulls Sid’s horse up and quickly slips down, tying him to the post in front of the infirmary. She sees a deputy standing guard as she approaches the door.

 

“I can’t let you in.” He says gruffly and she steps back, her hands on her hips.

 

“You will. My mate is in there.” She says and steps to him again. He puts his hand out to stop her and she’s about to slap it away when she sees her father through the window, his back to it.

 

“Father!” She shouts and sees him turn, his face surprised then perturbed. He makes his way out, telling the deputy to stand down and let her in.

 

“Magistrate Larson..” He begins, but Ki just looks at him with narrowed eyes and he quiets.

 

“Father, Sid says Kip is here.” She says with increased agitation.

 

“Come here.” He says and pulls her towards the end of the walk.

 

“No. Take me to her now.” She says and he stops and looks at her. He sees an adult worried about her mate, not a scared, young girl who needs protecting. He nods and points to the door he came out of and she goes through it without pause until she spots Kip in a bed, heavily bandaged and asleep.

 

Her hand goes to her mouth in shock and a tear slips down her cheek at the sight of her. She takes a calming breath and goes to the side of the bed, putting her hand on the only part that seems not injured, her upper arm.

 

“Did Prin’s brothers do this?” She asks, not looking up, her eyes fixed on Kip.

 

“They did. We found her an hour ago. Doc says she’ll be okay, but it will take some time though. Her jaw’s broken. She has some broken ribs and some minor swelling in her brain. The rest just cuts and bruises.” He says.

 

“Have they been arrested?” Lia asks, anger lacing her tone.

 

“No. They most likely won’t be.” He answers reluctantly. She looks at him in shock.

 

“Elder Clark and Magistrate Larson are putting a lot of weight behind your statement. There’s also information that one of the Alpha’s mates is talking about overhearing their plan, so…”

 

“So we just let this go? Those animals nearly killed her!” Lia cries.

 

“Lia, it’s done. Booth won’t press for a trial if we don’t fight for charges against his sons.” He says, trying to calm his daughter.

 

She looks back at Kip and sighs. She’s angry, but all she wants is for Kip to not have to endure any more hardships because of her, despite her slowly dwindling anger at Kip for not telling her about her mother.

 

Just then Kip stirs and opens her good eye. She makes a sound of surprise, or relief, it’s hard to tell. Lia puts a gentle hand on her neck, afraid to touch anywhere near her tightly wrapped jaw.

 

“Hey, I’m here. I’m so sorry.” Lia says, tears starting anew. She looks at her mate, willing her to believe her words. She might have been angry, but she never wanted something like this to happen.

 

Kip wishes she could talk, tell her she’s sorry too, but the bandages prevent her from speaking. Lia sees her distress and begins to slowly stroke her neck and collarbone.

 

“Rest, I’ll be here when you wake up.” She says and stands to lean over and give her the gentlest of kisses on her swollen lips. The corner of Kip’s lip curls ever so slightly and her eye flutters closed and her breathing instantly evens out.

 

Lia sits back in the chair, tucking her hand under Kip’s shoulder. She turns to her Father who had been speaking quietly to one of the nurses.

 

“Thank you for finding her, Father.” She says sincerely.

 

“You’re welcome, Lia.” He says with a small smile. He crosses the room and leans in to kiss the top of her head. “I’ll bring you your pillow and blanket from your old bed.” He says and she nods with a grateful smile.

 

“Father, tell Mother…” She says, but isn’t sure what she wants him to tell her, she still has so much to say.

 

“You have some time yet.” He says, both hoping it to be true.


	16. Perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys still with me? I hope so! Sorry for delay. Planning and packing for an interstate move is no joke... Anyway, here's our next installment. Let me know what you think and I'll put off packing linens to write a bit more if you are all still into it... LOL

The only time that Lia leaves Kip’s side the first two days she is in infirmary is to give her official statement to Magistrate Larson, corroborating what Sel’s now widowed mate had told them of Prin’s plan to kill Kip and force Lia to come back.

 

She’s also more relieved than she thought she’d be when they tell her that there will be no further inquiry and that the killings were justified self-defense. She doesn’t leave the magistrate’s office until she gets in writing that if the Booth family comes anywhere near Kip or her brother Rya, they will be arrested on the spot.

 

She is in the process of telling Kip all of this when she sees Rya enter the infirmary, worry etched into his features. She stands as he makes his way over. She expects him to be angry with her, but instead wraps her in a hug.

 

“I was so worried when you two went missing.” He breathes out as he releases her and turns his attention to his sister. The stoic male alpha wipes a tear from his eye as he surveys her battered face and bandaged jaw. He puts a big hand around her lower leg and the two look at each other, silently communicating relief, concern.

 

“Thank you for sending your brother with news of what happened.” He says, turning to the Omega once again. She watches as his jaw sets in anger a moment later. “Is it true that the bastards who did this will go unpunished?” He asks.

 

“It was in exchange for not putting Kip on trial. I didn’t agree, but it is what it is. They got their pound of flesh. If they come anywhere near her again, they’ll be arrested.” Lia tells him. He looks away in disgust until Lia puts a hand on his arm. “I want them punished as well, but there’s not much we can do. Their father is one of our elders. She’s going to make a full recovery. That’s what matters right now.” She says with a warm smile towards Kip.

 

She slowly grabs her small notebook and pencil, which one of the nurses procured from the school so Kip could communicate. She writes for a few seconds and then hands it to Rya who reads it aloud.

 

**_“Sorry I took off without word. Is shop okay? How is Lope doing? Animals?”_ **

A wave of guilt washes over Lia. She hadn’t considered what her actions had meant for Kip and their home. She bows her head as Rya assures his sister everything is fine and being taken care of.

 

Lia gives her a sad smile and Kip looks at her with sympathetic eyes as if she understands what Lia is thinking. She reaches for her Omega’s hand and Lia eagerly takes it, giving it a squeeze.

 

Kip’s nurse comes over letting them know that it is time for Kip to rest, so Lia gives her a kiss on her forehead, smoothing some of her hair away from her face before following Rya outside. Once they are out of the building, Rya turns to Lia.

 

“What exactly happened?” Rya asks. He isn’t angry, he sounds genuinely curious. He’d gotten a bit of the story from Chase, but he could tell that he wasn’t giving him all of the information.

 

Lia bites her lip, deciding how much to say to Rya. She knew she had acted irrationally in leaving without waiting and at least confronting Kip about the letter first and working something out. This could have all been avoided had she acted like the adult she’s supposed to be now.

 

“I saw a letter my mother wrote that she told Kip to give to me after she died. I got angry that Kip kept the fact my mother is dying from me and then upset I’d never see her again, so I took off. It was wrong of me not to wait for Kip and talk it out. She immediately came looking for me but I didn’t wait for her once she caught up to me. It allowed the Booth brothers to…” She trails off, looking through the window at her sleeping mate and taking a deep breath, trying to swallow the guilt she felt.

 

“She really loves you, you know.” Rya says quietly, but with conviction as he watches the Omega. “When she would come sit with me when I was laid up with my leg wound, she would talk about you. How hard you were trying, how guilty she felt for taking you from your family… Did she tell you about a letter our mother wrote to her?” Rya asks suddenly.

 

“No.” Lia says, but thinks back to that night she saw Kip up, reading something, the tears she saw in her mate’s eyes.

 

“When she can speak, ask her about it. It will explain some things.” Rya says with a warm smile. When Lia nods slowly he gestures to the west side of town where they both see Chase walking towards them.

 

“I’ll be staying at your brother’s tonight and heading back tomorrow. I just wanted to see her for myself. I’ll take care of things until she’s fit enough to make the trip.” He says with a nod and hopes off the porch to join Chase. He gets a few steps and then turns around, looking at the Omega. “My sister can be stubborn, but she’s reasonable when it counts.” He says with a crooked smile and turns back around.

 

Lia looks at his retreating form quizzically for a few seconds, wondering what he means by that. She’ll take the information at face value however and from this moment forward will always make it a point to communicate with her Alpha, no matter what her state of mind might be in.

 

…

 

 

Only when the doctor assures Lia that Kip doesn’t appear to have any complications from her broken ribs or head trauma and is healing nicely does Lia finally go visit her mother.

 

She makes sure Kip is fed first that afternoon, helping her with small spoonfuls of broth and an awful liquid protein she must drink through a metal tube.

 

Lia smiles wide when Kip grabs her notepad, drawing a large face with a frown after finishing the drink.

 

“I know, but you need it to keep your strength up. Be happy you are an Alpha and heal fast.” She reminds as she tenderly wipes a few drops from her mate’s lips with her thumb. “Soon as you are able to chew, I’ll cook you a venison steak the size of your head and bake you a blueberry pie you can have all to yourself.” Lia says sweetly as her fingers trail up the Alpha’s cheek and through her hair. Both her words and ministrations make her mate moan in anticipation and appreciation, making the Omega giggle.

 

“I’ll just be a few hours with my mother, okay?” Lia confirms after a few moments of comfortable silence. Kip nods and picks her notepad up again, writing in it quickly and giving it to Lia to read.

 

**_Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere. Please give her my regards._ **

 

“I will. I’ll have Lara come get me if you need me, okay?” Lia says with a small smile. Kip nods once again and raises a hand to shoo her mate off. Lia chuckles as she stands and bends to put a gentle kiss to Kip’s lips.

 

“Alright. I’ll be back to feed you your evening meal.” She says and laughs once again when Kip makes a face.

 

 

 

“How’s Kip?” Clara asks when she sees her daughter at her doorway, exhaustion but also relief evident in her eyes.

 

“She’s going to be okay. I still can’t believe those Alphas aren’t going to be arrested.” Lia sighs angrily, still upset about the whole ordeal.

 

“I know. Elder Booth is ashamed of their behavior, but fought for them to just be given a warning. Prin was dishonorable in his actions, but he was still their brother and his son.” Clara explains

 

Lia nods slowly, thinking about what her father had told her. “If Elder booth hadn’t found them and stopped them…” Lia says, realizing for the first time perhaps how close she came to losing Kip. Tears begin to well up in her eyes and her mother reaches out a hand.

 

“But he did. She’s going to be fine.” Her mother says reassuringly with a smile, bringing her back to what is instead of what could have been.

 

“Yes, I know. It’s all my fault though. I should have heard her out. At the very least slowed so we could have arrived together.” Lia says sadly.

 

“I doubt she’d see it as your fault. She loves you and would do anything for you. Surely you see that now.” Her mother says, her eyes steady, sincere.

 

“I do.” Lia says as she nods slowly. She thinks about Rya’s words too. She knows Kip loves her. It’s time for her to do the same. She knows its there. She just needs to let it happen. “When we get back… I’ll be a better mate.” She adds sincerely.

 

“It doesn’t sound like you were a bad one to begin with. You just need to be you. Accept the life you are in now, Daughter, wholeheartedly. It’s a pretty good one, don’t you think?” Her mother adds rhetorically, but smiles when Lia nods. “And you’ll soon be a mother. Have you told her yet?” Clara asks.

 

“Not yet. I want her a bit farther along in her recovery.” Lia reasons, her smile becoming a bit brighter at the thought of Kip’s reaction to the news.

 

“She’ll be able to smell your scent change soon. Better you tell her than let her think you were hiding it from her. See Dr. Kosack while you are here too.” She advises.

 

“That’s a good idea.” Lia says. They sit for a few more moments talking when Lia stands to grab her mother’s brush. “Want me to braid your hair?” She asks with a smile. Clara giggles and nods. They both know they are thinking about when Clara used to braid Lia’s hair. The significance of the switch in roles is not lost on either as their smiles slip, both fighting off an impending sadness at the inevitable.

 

…

 

Clara is with them for another few days and Lia is there when her mother passes over. She’s sad for sure, but mostly she’s grateful. Grateful for the time she had with her. They’d left no word unsaid and when her mother closes her eyes for the final time, they are filled with joy for her daughter, knowing she’s going to be just fine with a mate who loves her and pups on the way.

 

When she returns to Kip, her eyes red and puffy, but her face relaxed and happy, the Alpha reaches out a hand. At first Lia just takes it and sits next to her, but Kip tugs her down to her chest and Lia wraps her arms around her mate, holding on as tightly as she dared, her tears beginning anew on the Alpha’s chest as she strokes her head tenderly.

 

Lia listens to the steady, strong heartbeat and melts into the comfort of her mate’s presence and strength. She lifts her head when she feels the Alpha trying to shift and sits up when she sees that Kip is trying to communicate with her. She reaches the notepad for her and hands it to her and Kip smiles her thanks before wiping her own eyes and taking the pen. Lia sits patiently as Kip writes. She tries not to peek as Kip furrows her brows, her hand pouring out word after word, filling half a page of her notebook.

 

Finally, she stops and puts the pen on her chest, rereads it, nods and gives it to Lia with a small, cautious smile.

 

**_“I’m so sorry I kept your mother’s illness from you. When I returned from hunting the day you’d left, I’d made the decision to take you to her, despite my promise to her. I’m not sure you will believe me, but I wanted to tell you that. So, I could have done without the beating and the feeling of you hating me, but I’m so, so glad you got this time with her. I hope one day you’ll forgive me. I promise not to ever keep secrets from you again, if you’ll return with me and continue to be my mate.”_ **

****

Lia reads it and then reads it again. A tear slips from her eye as she imagines what is going on, what has gone through Kip’s mind the week she’s been lying here. Sure Lia had been attentive, but she’d not said anything about the events that brought them both here and what it meant for their relationship. It was mostly out of deference to Kip’s state, but Lia knew she hadn’t been ready to talk about it yet.

 

But she is now.

 

She sets the notebook down, her eyes taking in Kip’s anxious, timid expression. She’d never seen the Alpha look so vulnerable. It spurs her on, wanting to reassure her mate, so she takes Kip’s hand, eyes sweeping around the area to make sure no one was within earshot.

 

“I forgive you, but only if you can forgive me for running. For causing this.” She says, gesturing to Kip’s injured body. Kip shakes her head, a scowl on her face as she grabs the notebook and pen and writes, **_"Not your fault."_**

 

Lia smiles at Kip's words, but doesn't address them. She takes a deep breath and continues as Kip looks at her intently, more interested in hearing what she had to say than arguing about fault. “I was angry at you, but I think I was more angry at my situation. I felt powerless in my circumstances. Ripped away from my family, thrust into a new and different life I wasn’t really prepared for…” Lia says and watches Kip’s head bow in regret. She watches her for a second before a small smile crosses Lia’s lips and she puts a finger under Kip’s jaw, tilting it gently up so she can look at her again.

 

“But something my mother said, brought it into perspective for me. My situation is far from unique. I was just looking at it the wrong way. I have an opportunity to grow and learn. A life any Omega would be happy to live. I have a mate who would do anything for me… Who loves me…” She says slowly, watching Kip’s reaction to that. Her heart thumps in her chest when Kip smiles as wide as her healing broken jaw will allow. It’s at that moment that Lia finally understands. She feels it too though she’s not quite ready to name it out loud.

 

“I’m honored to be your mate, Kip. I am. I want to make sure you know that. Every day.” She says and Kip nods as she looks at her intently, her eyes glistening.

 

She falls silent then and can guess that Kip might be a bit disappointed that she didn’t say she loves her back. She continues to look at Lia with muted expectation and she almost says the words, but she holds back, her instincts telling her to wait.  

 

But there is something else she can say that will make Kip happy. The news she got from Dr. Kosack. She smiles brightly as she brings Kip’s hand to her belly. “And in seven and a half months or so, we’ll be a family of five.”

 

She can’t help her bark of laughter as Kip’s eyes roll up to the ceiling, her expression erupting into joy and pride as she lets out a pathetic but enthusiastic howl through her clinched teeth.


	17. Clarity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter. Thanks for your patience!
> 
> On another note, very interesting dialogue going on about the possibility of f/f A's and O's being able to have males. Well, in my A/B/O world they can! Further on in the story I'll write a little about origins of Alphas and Omegas and will incorporate a bit of that into it. Obviously some belief will need to be suspended, but I hope it will make more sense than male Omegas having babies come out of their butts! (no offense to butt babies intended... LOL)
> 
> Anyway, I really liked this chapter and would love your opinions on it. I'm trying to balance love story with the societal backstory and am interested if I'm hitting it right. World building is fun!
> 
> p.s. You'll see I made up a new word for an Alpha female mother... I felt they warranted distinction.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading and commenting! I fucking hate packing! LOL

Kip and Lia end up staying another week at Dakota colony, which gives them enough time to attend a moving, beautiful memorial for Lia’s mother and give Kip a few more days of healing under her belt before embarking on the day-long journey back to Huron Colony.

 

Kip’s dignity takes a hit when Sid offers to accompany them, but with Lia pregnant now, she can swallow her pride for the time being if it means extra safety while on the road.

 

Before they leave, Kip insists that she accompany Lia on one more visit to Dr. Kosack. The look on her face when the doctor puts the stethoscope to Lia’s belly so she can hear the three tiny, rapid heartbeats is something Lia will always remember. So much pride and love and wonder. As Kip’s eyes look up to Lia’s, her expression says all it needs to.

 

“So, Kip, you are going to be a matra. Did your doctor in Huron tell you about sympathetic lactating?” Dr. Kosack asks as Kip hands back the stethoscope. The expression she has on her face is another one Lia will never forget, but for reasons purely comical.

 

“You didn’t know about that?” Lia asks, her voice rising in disbelief and a bit of mirth as Kip shakes her head vehemently, eyes as wide as Lia has ever seen them. M _y poor Alpha female_ … Lia thinks to herself. Dr. Kosack stands by, ready to offer more information, but Lia just puts a hand out to the doctor. “I’ll explain it to her, Dr. Kosack.” Lia says gently, trying not to laugh at her mate’s still shocked face.

 

…

 

The next day, about an hour into their trip, Kip taps Lia on the shoulder and half-whispers into her ear through clinched teeth. It’s the first time Lia has heard Kip try and talk in two weeks and is so surprised she has to ask her to repeat herself. She does so in a low, whispery growl through her still bandaged shut jaw. “So, I’ll be able to breast feed?” She asks, looking over at Sid to make sure he didn’t overhear.

 

Lia smiles and leans back into Kip’s chest a bit, turning so her lips are near the Alpha’s ear. “You will. Pretty handy for us Omegas who normally have multiple births.” She whispers back over her shoulder. She feels Kip straighten and can imagine she’s thinking about this new information.

 

“This will be interesting.” She hears faintly as Kip tightens her arm around her belly a little and adjusts Marshall’s reigns in her hand as Lia turns forward again with an amused smile on her face.

 

 

…

 

 

“Are you sure you are ready to go back out hunting?” Lia asks as she finishes putting together a couple of meals for Kip and putting them in her canvas bag she takes with her. It had been two weeks since they’d returned home and even though Kip had been at work a week already, Lia knew she wasn’t completely healed. Her ribs were still sore and her movements stiff and her jaw still couldn’t open completely.

 

“I will be fine. The colony needs food for the upcoming winter. I’m behind as it is.” She says a bit testily and Lia lowers the canvas bag to the table slowly, her eyes following it.

 

Kip softens and puts her hand on top of Lia’s. “I’ll be okay. I’ve had an amazing nurse to bring me back to health. Besides, you’ll be needing all the venison I can hunt for the stew you eat this winter.” She says, giving the Omega a crooked grin and looking down at her belly. Lia looks up into soft green eyes and gives her a small smile.

 

“Just, please be careful.” She says finally, sliding the bag towards her, her hand still under Kip’s.

 

“I promise I will. I’m not going alone. San will be with me.” She says, tipping Lia’s lips to hers for a kiss.

 

“I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon. Call on Rya or Freya if you need anything.” Kip says and pulls Lia to her, placing a hand on her small baby bump.

 

“Okay.” She whispers, the Alpha’s scent suddenly driving her a bit crazy. She puts a hand to Kip’s chest and pushes her gently. “Go on before I don’t let you leave.” She says and Kip’s nostrils flare. It’s been weeks since they’ve been intimate and both mates are feeling the loss. Especially with Lia’s heat being replaced by crazy pregnancy hormones.

 

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Kip says, somewhat urgently and eagerly, making the Omega giggle.

 

“Just bring me back plenty of venison.” She replies as she walks Kip to the door and gives her a deep, lingering kiss before opening it and playfully pushing the now reluctant to leave Alpha.

 

When the door closes behind her, Lia sits down a bit heavily, a wistful smile on her face. She’d rather enjoyed taking care of the Alpha the first week they were back alone in their home. The Alpha was a surprisingly good patient, resting when Lia told her to and following the rest of doctor’s orders until she could get up and walk with minimal pain and talk somewhat normally. It helped that Alpha males and females heal at a quicker rate than most Betas and Omegas.

 

They’d opened up to the other quite a bit too, with Lia sharing some of the things she and her mother talked about and Kip finally sharing the story of what happened to her mother and brother and sharing the contents of the letter she’d written to Kip before she died.

 

They had been lying in bed, late one night with neither able to sleep.

 

_“Can’t sleep either?” Lia asks when she feels the Alpha’s breathing change against her back as she had been pressed up against the Alpha’s side. She turns fully around to look at the Alpha._

_“I was thinking about my mother and brother...” Kip says quietly, her speech still stilted, but understandable. Lia stays quiet, sensing the Alpha is going to continue talking._

_“She was such an amazing woman. My brother was my best friend.” She says sadly. Lia scoots a bit closer and takes the Alpha’s hand that is resting at her side._

_“It’s my fault they got sick.” Kip confesses and turns her head to look at Lia. Lia’s eyes are soft, understanding._

_“What happened, Kip?” She asks with warm encouragement. She knows Kip was only twelve and it must have been some sort of unintentional act._

_“There were some outsiders. A family I met out in the woods when I was hunting. They were starving. There was a girl, my age. She pleaded with me to talk to our elders to let them in…” Kip starts and her head turns back, staring up at the ceiling, recalling the fateful action that cost their colony so much._

_“They were sick, it turns out. My mother supported me when I went to talk to the elders, and convinced them they were no threat and that we could offer them shelter and food.” Kip says, her voice sounding far off._

_“It is rare, you know, to find outsiders nowadays that aren’t trying to rob or kill colonists. We thought they were from a neighboring colony, but they had been on their own since the father was a boy with his family.” Kip explains, shaking her head slightly to get back on track._

_“Anyway, they’d had a previously eradicated virus and it spread before our doctor could contain and neutralize it. It killed seven of our colonists, including my mother and brother. It killed the family as well with the exception of one, their alpha daughter my age. She stayed on here, which is the only good thing to come out of my… mistake.” Kip says, with a mix of shame and regret._ San _, Lia thinks to herself, putting it together._

_“Oh, Kip.” Lia says sadly, moving in closer and hugging the Alpha, putting her cheek against her shoulder. “I’m so sorry. You couldn’t have known they were sick though. Sounds like you were trying to help them. You even saved one. I’m sure your mother didn’t blame you.” Lia says, hoping her words aren’t taken lightly. This story just further proves what a big heart Kip has and knows that the Kip from years ago simply wanted to help the family, because that was how she was raised. She’d learned that from reading Risa’s earlier journal entries._

_Kip puts her arm around Lia, but doesn’t say anything for a few moments as she lets a few silent tears fall. She then slips out of Lia’s arms and goes to the dresser. Lia’s about to ask but then she sees her open the bottom drawer and she knows what she’s getting. Her mother’s letter._

_“She wrote this the night before she died.” Kip says and slips back into bed, handing Lia the letter and then reaching over to light the lamp so she could read it._

_Lia settles on her back and waits for her eyes to adjust and then begins reading to herself._

**_Dearest Kip,_ **

****

**_Please know that I love you so much and that I am proud of you. I know you will grow up to be a strong and courageous leader for our colony. You are destined to do great things and I want you to promise me that you will not let what happened force you off the path you are destined to walk. You will honor us by being exactly who you are meant to be, Kip._ **

****

**_Because of the wise decisions of our ancestors to go back to a communal, simple and sustainable lifestyle, it is our duty to populate our planet responsibly and with strong, capable Alphas, Omegas and Betas. I know we didn’t get much of a chance to talk about all of that, as you are still young, but I write this mainly because of a dream, or perhaps it was a vision I had the other night of your future._ **

****

**_In it, I saw your mate, a beautiful dark-haired Omega from a neighboring colony with a strong spirit and loyal heart. I wish I could give you more details about how you will meet, but I think when the time comes, you’ll know. Be strong and steadfast when you find her. Your road together will not be easy, and you must win her heart first, but it will all be worth it._ **

****

**_Please keep this letter as a reminder Kip, of your importance to our colony. Our way of life is filled with hardships and hard decisions, but in the end, our ancestors were wise to set us on this path and you, your mate and your offspring will be important in keeping us on it for generations to come._ **

****

**_I love you always,_ **

****

**_Risa_ **

_Lia sets the letter on her nightstand, taking a moment to let the burden the Omega has set upon their shoulders sink in. She is about to address it when she turns and sees an infinite sadness in her mate’s eyes. Her first thought is to offer sympathy, but she knows that is not what Kip needs right now. She needs reassurance. She needs to be reminded of the bigger picture, not that she made a seemingly compassionate decision that cost half her family’s lives._

_“Through chaos comes clarity.” She says and Kip cocks her head in intrigue._

_“How do you know that phrase?” She asks, remembering hearing her mother say it._

_“Learned it in school. When we were learning about how the survivors of the pandemic made a conscious decision to go back to living off the earth as opposed to trying to pick up where they left off.” Lia says as she snuggles into the Alpha._

_Kip smiles at the seemingly unintentional shared memory of something so close to her heart. Her mother loved to tell her stories of their forefathers and mothers and how they used their previous knowledge of medicine, technology and machines to strike a balance between convenience and sustainability. How they taught their peers the importance of community instead of mere co-habitation, cooperation when needed, competition when warranted._

_How plants, herbs, vegetation and minerals the earth produced were more effective than any synthetic drug or supplement humans had created in the years preceding the pandemic. They took and made what was needed and stored what they could, but never to excess and always with sharing and trading in mind with other colonies._

_“For those that saw the pandemic coming and prepared for it, and for those that were fortunate enough to survive it, after the chaos, came a clarity of vision. Individually and then eventually collectively, they all understood that society could never go back on the path it once was for it would only be another 200 years or sooner before we destroyed ourselves and the planet, perhaps forever.” Lia recalls verbatim, causing Kip’s smile to grow wide and her eyes misting with love and pride._

_“My mother’s words.” Kip says, even though she now has an idea that Lia knew that, based on her proud smile. Still she’s impressed and says so._

_“We studied her writings in school.” Lia says demurely, adding, “She was a wise woman who understood the temporary drawbacks but far reaching rewards of this way of life. She also raised an incredibly brave and compassionate daughter who does too and I can’t wait to raise our pups with her teachings and your heart.” She finishes, putting a hand to Kip’s chest._

_Kip has no words in reply, her heart and mind so overwhelmed. She silently pulls Lia forward and covers her lips with her own. When they break, Lia’s eyes are shining and Kip smiles as she struggles to move herself halfway down the bed and lie gingerly on her side._

_“What are you doing?” Lia asks in mild alarm until Kip settles her with an arm around her upper thighs and slowly lowers her head to Lia’s belly._

_“Not too heavy am I?” Kip asks from her spot. She’s not entirely comfortable, but there’s nowhere she’d rather be right now._

_Lia threads her fingers through light brown locks, relaxing her head onto her pillow with a wide smile. “Not at all, my Alpha. Not at all.”_


	18. In Case You Haven't Figured it Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How about some sexy time? 
> 
> Seems I've thrown you all for a loop with the sympathetic lactating thing... Hope you continue reading! 
> 
> Also, I was pondering the idea of continuing this for another 2 or 3 chapters and then making it a series if there's any interest in that. Let me know what you think, or if I should continue at all!

Lia spends the time that Kip is away hunting canning fruit and curing meat for the winter and for when the pups arrive. She knows that in just a couple of months, she will be busy preparing for the pups and then resting when she gets closer to her due date and of course once they are born, she will have little time to do anything else but care for them. She also wants to make sure Kip has plenty of ready-to-go meals for when Lia is knee deep in diapers and feedings.

 

She smiles at the thought of her Alpha. Even though she’s only been gone since yesterday morning and due back soon, she’s eager to be reunited with her, in all senses of the word. She feels herself get flush when she thinks of it. She thought being in heat was bad, but now with her open acknowledgement of her ever-growing feelings for Kip, and pregnancy hormones kicking in, the desire to be with her has increased exponentially. She is literally craving her and the feeling is exhilarating.

 

She looks up at the clock and notes that she is due to arrive at any time. She cleans up the last of her canning supplies and goes to take a quick bath.

 

She’s halfway through rinsing her hair when she hears the front door open. “Kip?” She calls out, wanting to make sure it is her.

 

“Yep.” She hears from the other room. She hurries through the rest of her bath and is pulling herself out of the tub when Kip comes in, still in her boots and hunting shirt and trousers.

 

“Oh.” She says as she gets a view of her Omega, naked and glistening wet. She feels her cock stiffen immediately.

 

“Expecting someone else, Alpha?” Lia purrs as she puts the towel back on the hook and turns fully to her.

 

“No.” She growls and steps to her, pressing her lips to the Omega’s and then parting them with her tongue. They kiss, long and deep for a few seconds with Kip’s hands roaming her naked, wet body.

 

Kip pulls back and licks her lips. Lia is still reeling from the kiss and the feeling of Kip’s stiff cock pushing into her belly. “I’ll take a quick bath too.” Kip says as she begins stripping off her shirt.

 

“No. I want you just the way you are.” Lia says as she begins unbuttoning Kip’s pants.

 

“I stink.” Kip laughs as she nearly topples over bending to take her boots off once Lia has her pants half off.

 

Lia steps into Kip’s space and takes her hand, pushing it into her folds. They are soaking.

 

“This is what your ‘stink’ does to me.” She whispers and grins when she feels Kip take in a sharp breath. She stands back, watching Kip’s eyes go dark. She shucks her underwear off and Lia looks down at Kip’s bouncing cock. She wraps her hand around it and Kip grabs her by the back of her neck.

 

“Bed.” She husks and grabs the wrist of the hand that Lia had around her and drags her out of the bathroom.

 

Lia half expected her to toss her on the bed, but instead she watches the Alpha climb on first and lie on her back. Lia doesn’t even hesitate as she crawls up the Alpha’s legs and straddles her. Kip puts her hands on her hips and guides her as Lia pushes Kip’s tip into her entrance and sinks slowly down. She slides in easy as Lia is already soaking wet.

 

“This way you can control the depth.” Kip groans as she pushes gently up into Lia. Lia leans forward and puts her hands to Kip’s chest. She smiles down at the Alpha who has her eyes locked on hers, her mouth open slightly as she fights the urge to fill the Omega completely.

 

“I’m not that far along. You can knot me if you want.” Lia says, her voice already unsteady as she begins to settle into a nice rhythm.

Kip doesn’t respond, she just gives her a crooked grin and begins to move her hips with a bit more purpose.

 

“That’s it, Alpha.” Lia moans as she leans forward even more, giving Kip’s hips a bit more room. She doesn’t hesitate, picking up the pace of her strokes, tapping her clit with the base of her cock each upstroke.

 

They are chest to chest and Kip has her hands on Lia’s ass, controlling her movements as she begins to drive hard into her. She flips them over and Lia’s hands go around the Alpha’s neck, pulling her down until they are breathing the same air.

 

Lia watches the Alpha as her eyes go a bit unfocused. Lia can feel her cock swell and her knot begin to form. She releases her neck and runs her hand lovingly over her back, loving the feeling of Kip’s slick, fragrant skin sliding against hers.

 

Her mind quickly recounts their first meeting, what her first impression was of the Alpha. She then thinks back to when she realized that Kip would win the contest and what that meant. But instead of the dread she’d felt, she looks at the memory with new eyes. She thinks about how hard Kip fought to win her, how hard she has had to fight to win her heart.

 

“Kip.” She says quietly and Kip’s eyes automatically come back into focus and she looks at Lia, slightly alarmed, slightly glazed over in pleasure.

 

“I love you.” She whispers with conviction.

 

“You do?” The Alpha asks as her pace slows and her arms go tighter around the Omega’s shoulders. Lia’s hands continue to caress her back, softly, up and down and she gives Kip a wide, warm smile as her heart clinches at the simply asked question.

 

“I do.” She replies.

 

Kip’s eyes shine bright as she seems to be taking in her Omega’s words. Then a brilliant smile slides across her face.

 

“Good.” She finally says and lowers her lips slowly to the Omega’s. The kiss is gentle at first, but then Lia’s hands go down to Kip’s ass and she gives it a squeeze as she simultaneously opens her mouth. Kip slides her tongue in and begins quickening her thrusts again and soon she’s slamming the Omega into the bed as she feels her knot is nearly fully formed..

 

She pulls back only to look into Lia’s eyes as she feels the Omega clinching around her cock. She tilts her hips so she is brushing her clit and is almost instantly rewarded with Lia screaming her name as she comes around her swollen cock.

 

She helps Lia ride out her orgasm, but she’s close too so she shoves her growing knot past her entrance and Lia yelps in a bit of pain. Kip is about to apologize when Lia just shakes her head as if to say she’s fine.

 

“Look at me.” She hears Lia coo as she pushes the rest of the way in and her cock begins to spasm as it prepares to release its sperm into the Omega. Her eyes lock on Lia’s and she fights to keep them open as she empties herself into her mate. She hears a strangled moan and realizes it’s coming from her as she’s taken beyond pleasure, ecstasy.

 

“That’s it, Kip…” Lia says softly as Kip’s head finally drops to Lia’s collarbone, her body spent, her heart pounding out of her chest.

 

She smiles tiredly as she feels the Omega’s fingers combing through her sweaty hair. She picks up her head and gives her a small smile.

 

“I think I might have almost passed out.” She gives a weak chuckle.

 

Lia laughs and Kip can feel it around her cock, it makes her shudder. She then realizes all of her weight is on her Omega and tucks her legs in, flipping them around in one smooth movement.

 

“Whoa.” Lia says, on top of the Alpha with her cock still buried inside her.

 

“I figured you didn’t want me lying on you for an hour while this thing goes down.” Kip says and pumps her hips lightly to indicate the knot still buried inside Lia.

 

“You got that right. You are heavy.” Lia teases and slaps the Alpha’s chest.

 

They grow silent and Lia looks down at her hand that is on the Alpha’s breast. She gets a vision of one of their pups latched onto it. The concept itself seems odd, the Alpha being able to breastfeed, but she can’t say she wouldn’t love to see that side of the tough, stoic Alpha. The thought begins to arouse her and she begins to caress the nipple, then lean down, taking it into her mouth.

 

Kip’s eyes widen at the warm tongue swirling around her nipple and her cock twitches.

 

“My Omega, if you want to have a comfortable night without my knot in your pussy for half of it, you should refrain until it’s gone down.” She advises with an amused grin.

 

Lia looks up innocently and then bends back down, taking the other one in her mouth as she spreads her legs wide and begins to grind against the Alpha’s pubic bone.

 

“I guess we’ll sleep in tomorrow.” Kip muses as she closes her eyes and reaches down to press Lia’s ass down against her, rocking her hips to Lia’s rhythm as much as she can without dislodging her knot.

 

“Oh, and in case you haven’t figured it out, I’m madly in love with you, Lia. I can’t wait to be a family.” She whispers into the Omega’s hair and is rewarded with a lingering kiss to her jawbone.

 

“Me too, Alpha, me too.”


	19. Try My Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. Remember me? LOL
> 
> Sorry, as you know I'm in the middle of a move and haven't had a lot of time to write. I'm still loving writing this story though and things will calm down in a few weeks and I'll have much more time. In the meantime here is a short but sweet, kinda smutty chapter. Let me know if you guys are still tuned in! :)

Lia’s mother had told her what it was like to be pregnant, but hearing about it and actually experiencing it couldn’t even be compared. She’s happy the midwife she was paired with was an Omega that had had three litters of her own and was very knowledgeable. Lia took all the information she could get and soaked up any advice she was given.

 

Everything from herbs to lessen morning sickness to safe exercises she could do to get herself prepared for birthing three pups. She was glad for all the extra canning she did as well, for she burned through a good portion of it, eating for four.

 

Kip had made a joke about it once, and only once, when she found she had to do without sex for an entire week as a result.

 

Her sexual desire had waned after the first couple of months, as predicted by the midwife. By four months, she was the size of a seven month pregnant Beta and felt like doing very little else other than sleeping and eating as her body adjusted to the influx of hormones and growing to accommodate three growing pups. The midwife had let her know though that her desire would return near the end of pregnancy and was a good way to induce labor when the time came, but to be careful of any type of penetration. She couldn’t imagine anything going anywhere near there when she was near full term, though, if the swelling was anywhere close to what if felt like now.

 

In the meantime, Kip had been the doting matra, eating joke notwithstanding, coming home each day for lunch, insisting she prepare dinner each night and accompanying her on her midwife visits.

 

“How much teasing are you getting from the other Alphas?” Lia asks one day as she reclines on their bed as Kip rubs her feet.

 

“Well, quite a bit. They’ve cut me a _little_ slack though,” she puts her fingers up to indicate a miniscule amount, “because these are my first pups, but yeah, I’m getting made fun of.” She gives her Omega a crooked smile though and adds, “I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’m proud of you and I’m not too Alpha to show it.”

 

“Come here.” Lia purrs and Kip does, sliding her hand up Lia’s leg to her thigh, moving to the inside of it as she brings her face closer to her mate. Lia puts a hand on her fingers to stop their ascent, which they can’t really reach their goal in her current position anyway and gives her a sweet but chaste kiss.

 

“Not sure what you think you’re doing with that hand there, Alpha.” Lia says against her lips. Kip can feel her smile against them as she slowly extricates her fingers from her thigh.

 

“Sorry, seeing you carrying my pups gets me all sorts of horny.” She says with light mischievousness, but Lia can see the Alpha is in need of relief.

 

She gives her a regretful smile and puts her hand to Kip’s cheek. She wishes she had the desire and energy to give the Alpha what she needs.

 

“You really are beautiful, you know. Especially now.” Kip says with a rather shy smile that makes Lia’s heart flutter. She brings her hand down off of Kip’s face, pulling her into a hug as close as she can. She sighs in contented happiness until she feels Kip’s stiff cock poking into her belly. She smiles in sympathy and looks up at Kip who is biting her bottom lip in concentration.

 

“Lie back.” Lia instructs gently and Kip looks at her confused for a second until Lia’s hand brushes the front of Kip’s loose underwear she wears to bed.

 

“You don’t have to….” Kip says, but already she’s on her back pulling off her underwear, her cock springing up once it’s free of its constraint.

 

“I want to.” Lia says assuredly, licking the palm of her hand as she watches Kip’s eyes grow dark. Lia gets comfortable on her side as Kip puts her arm under Lia’s neck. She jumps slightly when Lia’s hand closes around her erection and begins to idly stroke up and down as she places soft, feather kisses to Kip’s jaw. She pulls back in delight when she sees Kip’s eyes close and her mouth part slightly.

 

“Feels good?” She asks just above a whisper, feeling her nipples grow taut watching her Alpha’s face grow slack in pleasure. All she can do is nod and lick her lips as Lia picks up the pace a bit.

 

“I love you so much. Thank you for giving me the honor of bearing your pups.” Lia continues, placing her lips close to Kip’s ear. She can see the effect her words and touch are having on the Alpha as she continues to stroke her with purpose, her pre-cum already spilling out and helping to lubricate between her cock and Lia’s hand. She smiles when she hears the Alpha begin to moan rather loudly as she pumps her hips in time with her hand movements.

 

She leans in close, putting wet kisses to her jaw as her belly presses against Kip’s hip. Kip curls her arm around the back of Lia as she pushes herself hard into Lia’s hand, gasping for air as she spasms with a grunt, coming all over Lia’s hand, arm and all over her own stomach.

 

She turns then and takes Lia’s mouth against hers, slipping her tongue in deeply as she continues to rock her hips as her cock begins to grow flaccid.

 

Lia loves this power she has over her Alpha when she makes her come like this. The vulnerability Kip shows to her in moments like this never fails to make Lia fall that much more in love with her. It shows now in the shine of her eyes and the way her breath hitches as Kip comes down, a soft sigh of trust and contentment leaving her lips as she pulls away to look at her mate.

 

“I can’t believe how completely you own me.” Kip says in wonder as she turns to face the Omega, threading her fingers through her hair at the nape of her neck. “It is _me_ who is honored to bring pups into the world with you.”

 

Lia just smiles widely and brings her lips to Kip’s until they both notice the copious amount of sticky semen, which has grown cold. “Let’s go get cleaned up, huh?” Kip chuckles as she rises and helps her mate out of bed.

 

…

 

“How’s Lia?” Elder Clya asks as she brings her selection of arrows up for Kip to tally.

 

“She’s good. Tired.” She says, smiling at the thought of her very pregnant Omega at home. In two months or less, she’ll be a matra to three beautiful pups.

 

“Well, tell her we’re all excited to meet the little ones.” She says with a smile.

 

“These for Tad and Lela?” Kip asks, knowing her cousins’ birthdays are in a few days.

 

“Yep. I can’t believe they’ll be ten.” The elder says with a wistful smile.

 

“No kidding. They do grow up fast, huh?” Kip observes as she wraps the arrows up in two separate bundles.

 

“Yes, they do. One minute they’re crying to be fed or changed and the next they’re arguing with you about how they are old enough to traipse across the plains to go claim a mate.” Clya chuckles knowingly.

 

Kip smiles slyly and then her eyes turn serious. “Best thing I’ve ever done.” she says, thinking back to how nervous she was when she first set foot in Dakota territory as an Alpha competitor, determined to win and claim Lia as her own.

 

“So far.” The elder winks and picks her arrows up and turns towards the door, leaving Kip to look after her with an introspective grin.

 

…

 

“You sure you’ll be okay? I can reschedule.” Kip asks as she sits gently down on the bed, careful not to disturb the tray of mostly eaten food balanced on Lia’s large belly.

 

“Tad and Lela have been looking forward to you taking them out hunting since their birthday. And once these pups are born, you won’t have time for the foreseeable future.” The Omega says after finishing chewing her toast and winks, letting the Alpha know she’s going to expect a lot of help with the new pups.

 

“You’ll only be gone half the day. I’ve got Sada coming over with her pups for a visit this morning and then Jia is coming over later to help me finish folding and putting away diapers. I know Clya will show up at some point with an excuse so she can see how I’m doing…” Lia says lightly as she runs her fingers down her worried Alpha’s forearm. They both know the pups could come at any time and she’s on full bed rest until they do.

 

“Okay. Well, we’ll be by the old grove, just west of the front gate. Have someone send Rya or San if…” Kip gets out before Lia pulls her in for a deep kiss.

 

“I will. Now go. The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll be back.” Lia says with a smile and Kip nods, giving her one more concerned look before giving her another quick kiss and standing, taking the empty tray with her.

 

“I love you.” Kip says sincerely as she pauses at the door.

 

Lia gives her a radiant smile. “I love you too. I’ll love you even more if you manage to bring back some fresh venison.” She says, knowing it might be hard during their winter hunting excursion.

 

“You know I’ll try my best, Omega.” Kip grins.

 

 


	20. No, I'm Lucky

“You excited to be a matra, Kip?” Lela asks as they push through the calf high snow on the way to one of Kip’s favorite winter hunting spots closest to the colony.

 

“I sure am.” Kip says, a smile for the ten year old female Alpha. She looks to her other side to see Tad intently scanning the tree line. _He’s going to make a fine hunter for the colony_ , she thinks.

 

“I’m excited to meet them. Lia is going to have three, right?” She confirms. Kip nods.

 

“I hope I find a mate as pretty as Lia.” Tad chimes in, eyes still on the trees. Kip ruffles his hair.

 

“I hope you do too. Both of you. But you know, it isn’t just about how pretty she is. Lia is sweet and smart. She takes good care of me. She’s going to be a great mom.” Kip says, eyes casting down to the snow as she thinks about how far Lia has come in her feelings for the alpha. She’s grateful for that every day.

 

“Yeah, but don’t lie, you noticed how pretty she was first.” Lela teases her older cousin.

 

“That is a true statement.” Kip agrees with a chuckle. They all fall silent for a few moments until Kip asks them what they are learning in school.

 

Lela sighs and shrugs. “Some history stuff.” She says, not one to really enjoy school very much. She’d much rather be outside playing sports or caring for animals.

 

Tad perks up at the question though. “We’re learning about the Alpha/Omega Projects and how we came to be.” He says importantly.

 

“Oh ya?” Kip asks with interest. She remembers it well as her mother had been working on compiling all the information from all the copied books she could find on the subject when Kip was a little younger than her cousins.

 

“Yep. Did you know the Alpha Project started almost 300 _years_ ago?” Tad asks and Kip’s eyes widened as if it was new information to her. It spurs him on and he recites all they’ve learned so far.

 

“German scientists found out about it when they were looking for a way to create a super soldier during World War II with heightened senses and better reflexes…. Did you know they used wolf genes? We’re part wolf!” He says with delight.

 

“And did you know that an American female scientist was responsible for creating the female mutation? She was tired of seeing all the boys get everything.” Lela pipes up and Kip grins at the simplification of the story behind the female alphas.

 

“Of course she’d remember _that_ part.” Tad says, rolling his eyes, but with a small amused smile.

 

They fall silent again and Kip’s mind drifts back to reading the pages her mother had painstakingly organized and rewritten, remembering all about how after the Germans were defeated after World War II, a lot of the scientists were brought over to the U.S. secretly to continue some of their experiments, as long as they shared with American scientists.

 

The Alpha/Omega project eventually morphed from super soldier mutant to more of a population sustaining hybrid once scientists began to ponder the possibility of population destruction caused by nuclear war and later super viruses and wide-scale bio-terrorism.

 

They cultivated mutations that allowed for sturdy breeding females able to reproduce multiple offspring and for alpha females and alpha males that were prewired to survive harsh environments, with characteristics such as an overwhelming need to procreate and protect its kin.

 

The first Alphas and Omegas were introduced into the general population in the late 1940s in all races, all over the world, secretly of course, until doctors began documenting the differences between these ‘larger, dominant males and females who almost always had multiple births. Most notable, naturally, was the alpha female and after many years of ridicule and discrimination mainly due to ignorance and fear, the alpha females had finally found their place in society, just as the world as everyone knew it came to an end and the last thing people worried about were super strong females with the ability to ‘father’ children.

 

“Well, it’s important to learn from history, don’t you think?” Kip finally asks.

 

“I guess. But it sometimes makes me wonder what it would have been like to see those things called movies or fly up in the air in a plane…” Lela says a bit wistfully.

 

“Or go to a place and order food whenever you want!” Tad says excitedly.

 

Kip just nods, in total agreement with the two younger ones. She often wishes the ones who first survived here in the Northern States had decided to preserve a lot more of the advances society had made before the pandemic. Surely there was a lot more knowledge they could have passed on.

 

She’d heard from traveling colonists that some other areas in the world had begun redeveloping some industries and technologies that were largely lost, but at a much more responsible and measured rate. She imagines that it is inevitable that it would reach the Northern State colonies, but most likely not in her lifetime or even her pups’ lifetime and it won’t be at the magnitude it was before the pandemic. Still, it’s fun to imagine what some of the conveniences like constant refrigeration and being able to look things up instantly on a machine as small as your hand would be like.

 

…

 

Lia is just starting to fall asleep when she hears a soft knock and then the slight scraping of the front door being opened. She struggles to sit up and brush her hair out of her face, trying to make herself presentable when there’s an even softer knock at the bedroom door.

 

“Come in.” She says and smiles warmly when she sees Elder Clya with a bright bouquet of flowers.

 

“They’re lovely. Thank you.” Lia smiles and begins to scoot her legs to the edge of the bed.

 

“Don’t get up, Lia, I’ll put them in some water.” She says with a smile as she holds a hand out to still Lia’s movements. Lia nods and gestures to the kitchen.

 

“There’s a vase under the sink.” She says to the elder with a smile. She nods and disappears for a few moments, reappearing with a small book in her hand.

 

“How are you feeling?” She asks as she pulls up a chair next to Lia’s bed.

 

“Like three pups are excited to come out of me and meet everyone.” She says with a mix of exhaustion and happiness.

 

“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if they came early. You look…” The elder starts but purses her lips, not sure how to proceed without offending the first time Omega mother.

 

“Huge? Ready to pop?” Lia fills in for her with a knowing smirk. “I certainly wouldn’t mind that, as long as they are fully formed and healthy.” Lia says, rubbing her belly, feeling one of them kick.

 

“Another month and they’ll be fine to join us out here.” Clya says knowingly, having sat in on lots of late pregnancy appointments with midwives.

 

“I’m pretty done with bed rest, to be honest.” Lia sighs.

 

“Is Kip taking good care of you?” Clya asks, knowing the answer, but wanting to hear it from Lia.

 

“She is. She’s so sweet. Rubs my feet every night, makes meals, does the washing for now.” She says her face turning from adoring to somewhat regretful.

 

Clya senses what Lia is thinking and puts a hand on her arm. “Kip’s happy to do all of that to ensure those little pups come out nice and healthy.”

 

Lia looks at her for a long moment and nods, knowing it to be true.

 

“She’s gone through so much, your mate.” Clya says, her eyes turning serious. “She’s always been strong, smart, sensitive. She will make a great elder one day.” She says, eyes locked onto Lia’s, which go wide at the statement.

 

“Really?” Lia asks. She knows she shouldn’t be surprised. Since day one at the Huron colony, she’s seen the respect her mate garners from the other colonists.

 

“Yes. I haven’t formally asked her, but it is in her pretty near future. Figured I’d let her get a real dose of parenthood before asking her take on more.” The elder chuckles.

 

“Yes, please.” Lia chuckles as well and then sobers. “I know she’d be honored. And deserving of it.” She says, her eyes shining with love and pride for her mate.

 

“Indeed.” Clya says as she pats Lia’s arm. “You get some rest. I’ll be by one more time before Kip gets home.”

 

“Thanks, Clya.” Lia says and welcomes the woman’s goodbye hug.

 

“Of course. Kip’s a lucky Alpha.” She winks.

 

“I’m a lucky Omega.” Lia responds with a sincere smile.

 

…

 

“Great shot, Lela!” Kip says as she pats the alpha girl on the back as she lowers her bow. She hit the good sized doe right in the ribcage below it’s shoulder, an instant kill shot.

 

The trio approaches the deer solemnly. Kip hands Lela her knife. “Your kill.” She says with a small, proud smile, which the girl returns. She kneels down in the snow and begins breaking down the deer so they can pack it in large leather pouches with snow to keep it cool for their trek back home.

 

Tad had already taken down a two point buck and they would head back after Lela was finished. Between the two deer, their meat supply would be good until winter ends.

 

As they finish packing the last of it in snow, they hear a sharp, loud crack. Kip’s neck hairs instantly raise as she stands and scans the area.

 

“What was that?” Tad asks, standing as well.

 

“Come on, let’s get this on our sled and get going.” She says nervously, ignoring Tad’s question.

 

She’s heard that sound only once, but it is unmistakable. It was a gunshot.

 

She hurries to get the last of the meat onto the sled, pushing the young alphas ahead of her. Her head continues to scan all directions as she couldn’t pinpoint where she heard the shot.

 

“Kip? What’s wrong?” Lela asks, picking up on her cousin’s sudden unease.

 

Before she can say something, there is another shot, this time it is decidedly closer. “Get down.” She hisses as she crouches, eyes turning to where she thinks the sound came from.

 

She sees two males and raises her nose. Alphas. She knows they will eventually spot them, so she grabs her cousins’ forearms and leans in. “If I tell you to run, drop everything but your bow and arrows and head home, understand?”

 

“Okay, Kip… But what…” Lela starts as Kip stands and begins pulling the sled again. She’s pretty sure the men are out hunting by the look of their whiteout gear, but their use of a gun, a very rare thing to see out in the colonies, makes her extremely nervous.

 

“Just do as I ask, okay. Those were gunshots we heard.” She states and both of them turn to her, eyes wide. Guns were known to be tools of aggressors and people who wanted to control others. They were forbidden in most Northern State colonies and limited only to elder magistrates in those that weren’t expressly forbidden.

 

They continued walking, not wanting to call attention to themselves, but not wanting to hide either and spook the hunters. They almost get to the clearing when Kip hears heavy, quickening footsteps in the snow coming towards them.

 

She turns, taking a defensive posture and the man slows and puts his hands up and gives them a beaming smile. “Hey, just thought you’d want this.” He says and Kip looks to see he’s dragging a leather sack that must have fallen off their sled in her haste to tie everything down and get out of there.

 

Suddenly she feels a bit foolish. “Thank you.” She says and slowly approaches the man who pulls the sack in front of him and takes a step back.

 

“Sure. That’s a lot of meat to lose.” He says and gives her a grin. She nods and places it back on the sled, securing it.

 

When she’s done, she stands back up, seeing the man still standing there, his partner some fifty yards away, cutting into his own deer.

 

“You from Huron?” He asks conversationally. Her instincts tell her not to trust the man in front of her, despite him tracking them down to return their deer cut.

 

“Further east. Calcot.” She lies as her younger cousins exchange looks but don’t say anything.

 

“That’s kind of far to just be day hunting.” He prods and Kip just shrugs.

 

“We have a camp not too far.” She says. “Where are you guys from?” She asks, turning the tables.

 

He swings his head back to his hunting partner before answering. “We’re on our own for now.” He answers.

 

Kip nods and extends her arm. “Well, thank you for returning what we dropped. Good hunting.” She says, looking the alpha in the eyes.

 

He takes a few seconds to put his arm up too, but he finally does, giving her forearm a nice strong grasp. “Thanks.” He says slowly. Kip gives him another nod and turns around, ushering the young alphas to do the same.

 

They get about forty yards out before Kip turns around, seeing that the man has just turn and head back to his partner.

 

“Those guys had guns _and_ their Outsiders?” Tad asks, eyes wide with excitement.

 

“It would appear that way.” Kip answers distractedly, the combination almost never meaning anything good. She’s got to make sure they aren’t followed back to Huron.

 

“You two continue on past the ash tree grove at the big curve okay? I’ll catch up to you.” Kip says after they’ve walked for a solid hour.

 

Neither of the young alphas ask why. They nod solemnly.

 

“What if they follow us?” Lela asks in a slightly apprehensive voice.

 

“I’ll figure out a way to make sure they don’t.” Kip says. She crouches down so she’s looking up at them slightly. She looks into their eyes, making sure she has their attention.

“You know the way home. If I haven’t rejoined you by the river crossing just keep going. Don’t stop until you are inside the gates and then tell Rya what we say and heard today, okay?”

 

They both nod, eyes taking on a worried look. Kip smiles.

 

“They probably aren't, but I want to be sure, okay?” Kip says lightly.

 

“Okay.” They say in unison.

 

She continues on with them another thirty minutes and once the clear the bend, she doubles back through the sparse forest, eyes trained on the clearing they just crossed.

 

Sure enough, the two alphas are following their sled’s path, nothing but small packs on their backs, rifles tied to the backs, no sign of the deer the other alpha was cutting up.

 


	21. Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright... move complete... now just doing the unpacking. Ugh. I'll be picking up the pace on this one, so hold tight! Thanks for continuing to read and comment!

Kip watches from atop a crop of boulders as the alphas continue to trudge through the snow. She is close enough to hear they are talking, but can’t make out what they say. She stiffens when they stop at where her tracks veer off from her cousins’.

 

“Dammit.” She breathes out as the one who she spoke to crouches down, studying her tracks. She wants to slap herself at her stupidity. She scrambles down the rocks as she sees them separate, the one who was cutting up the deer taking the tracks of the young alphas and the other one taking her path.

 

She tracks back, hoping to surprise the alpha and get the upper hand. She could disarm them one at a time, but she has to be quick. She pulls out her small crossbow and cocks the bolt, crouching down until she has a clear shot as soon as he gets within her kill zone.

 

He seems to sense he’s being watched and stops, looking around, nose in the air. She stays still, relying on her camouflage to provide cover. “I’m upwind, buddy.” She snarls, impatient for him to keep moving closer.

 

He takes two steps closer and then pulls his rifle out. _“Just keep walking towards me…”_ She thinks to herself.

 

“I just want to talk.” He shouts suddenly, eyes scanning the area and then, to Kip’s surprise, puts down his rifle and stands back up, hands raised.

 

“What the…?” She murmurs as she continues to watch him, not making a move or a sound.

 

“I know you separated. You knew we’d follow you. Let me tell you why.” He shouts into the air in her general direction.

 

She knows she doesn’t have a lot of time before the other alpha reaches her cousins. She stands and walks towards him, being careful to stay behind trees for cover.

 

“Talk.” She says from behind a tree.

 

“Can I see you? I’ve put my gun down.” He says, knowing she’s been watching him.

 

“Talk or I’ll put my arrow between your eyes.” She shouts to him.

 

“Look, I know us having guns is unnerving. We have good reason to carry them though.” He says, finally pinpointing Kip’s position from her last statement.

 

“Why is your friend following my cousins?” She asks, trying to move this along.

 

“I know you’re most likely from Huron. Listen, there’s been attacks along the central colonies, heading east. Large bands of Outsiders, with weapons. We don’t know where they got them, we just know they go from colony to colony, taking whatever they want, leaving little behind.”

 

“Why haven’t we heard about it?” She asks, inching out from her spot, arrow still trained on him. He finally spots her and gives her a slightly relieved look.

 

“We are from Big Horn and we’ve just recently heard about it.”

 

“You said you were on your own for now.” Kip challenges, now about twenty feet from him. She lowers her crossbow, but keeps her finger loose on the trigger.

 

“We uh.. we were exiled.” He says, looking down at his feet.

 

“Why?” She asks.

 

“Micah and I… we are together. Mates.” He admits and Kip’s eyes take on a more understanding expression. She knows that every once in a while, people will go against colony breeding policy by falling in love with someone they cannot procreate with. She understood why the policy was in place, adhering it to herself, but felt for those who couldn’t freely be with who they happened to fall in love with. She thinks briefly of Lia, and how fortunate they were to be able to have what they have, despite the circumstances of their joining.

 

“And the guns?” She asks, starting to believe the alpha, but still wary.

 

“I was a magistrate. We use them solely for hunting. Protection if needed as well. My name is Cal, by the way.” He says and extends his hand, Kip relaxing just a bit as she puts her arm out once again.

 

“My name is Kip. Let’s go call your mate back and I’ll believe you.” She states and the man nods and goes to pick up his gun. She steps up in front of him and he looks up at her expectantly.

 

“Unload it. Take the bullets and put them in your pocket.” She commands softly and the man complies. He stuffs them in his pouch and turns without another word. She trots after him.

 

She watches him closely as he leads the way, jogging at a relaxed pace until they both see three figures, sitting on a log near the sled. Kip quickens her pace until she is slightly ahead of Cal, wanting to make sure her cousins are okay.

 

“Kip! He was following us. I didn’t know…” Tad says, obviously very agitated. She looks beyond him to see that the alpha adult, Micah, is holding his arm and in obvious pain.

 

“Tad? What happened?” She asks as Cal runs to Micah, kneeling in front of him, concern evident.

 

“Lela shot him with an arrow.” He says hurriedly as Kip trots over to Lela who is bent over next to the man, digging through her pack and trying to find something to tie off his wound with. The man’s rifle is sitting about five feet from them on the log. She lets out a breath in relief.

 

“We knew he had a rifle. We asked him to stand still. He reached around his back and Lela let an arrow go.” Tad explained.

 

“We approached him slow and he told us he and his friend were merely trying to catch up to warn us about Outsiders. He was reaching for this, he said.” Tad continues as he hands Kip a week old local colony news printing detailing some of the incidents.

 

Cal is leaning in, looking at Micah’s wound and then takes the bandage that Lela hands to him. He turns to Kip. “We spent a few minutes debating whether to follow you and warn you. I wanted to, Micah thought you wouldn’t believe us.” He says with a sardonic grin, looking up to a shrugging Micah, with an ‘I told you so’ look.

 

“Well, you can imagine our reasons for skepticism.” Kip says, bending down to inspect the arrow wound. She watches as Cal looks up at Micah. It’s obvious now that they are together with the worry and concern etched into Cal’s brow.

 

“Yes. I just wish your kin here were a bit more patient.” Cal says, leveling Lela with a stare.

 

“They were doing what they were taught to do.” Kip says in an even tone. She watches Cal’s shoulders sag a bit.

 

“I’m sorry, it’s been rough being out here.” He says, looking up at Micah as he winces from the pressure of the bandage.

 

“I understand. Why don’t you two follow us back. We can have our doc stitch you up, Micah.” Kip says, having read over some of the newsprint articles while Cal tends to Micah. Everything adds up and she feels like these two are telling the truth.

 

“Thank you.” Cal says, standing. Micah stands too and grabs his pack. “We left our gear up that way. We’ll retrieve it and meet you at the gate entrance to Huron.” Cal states. Kip looks up at him, scrutinizing, her trust in them still tenuous.

 

“I’m sorry, but you come with us now, or you will not be welcomed at all. How do I know you aren’t going to fetch your group and attack us?” Kip says, her eyes serious. She will not risk bringing a potential threat back to her colony.

 

Micah looks at her, exasperated. “Come on Cal. Let’s go. They don’t trust us, I don’t blame them. I’ll just cauterize it, it’ll be fine. We can’t leave all of our supplies out there. It’s everything we have.” He says as he makes a move to go back where they came from.

 

“Please. If his wound gets infected…” Cal begs Kip. She sighs and then looks at her cousins, who are looking at her expectantly.

 

“He could have shot us, taken us hostage…” Tad says, recalling the man walking up to him in plain view, rifle still firmly tucked behind him.

 

Finally, it is Lela who speaks up. “I think they are telling the truth, Kip.” She turns to Micah and addresses him. “I’m sorry I shot you.” She says, lowering her eyes.

 

“It’s okay. You were just trying to protect yourselves.” He says, looking down at the young alpha female kindly.

 

“Come here, you two.” Kip says and pulls them away out of earshot of the alpha men.

“I am going to go back with them then. You two continue to Huron, but tell Rya what’s happening and to have some people standing guard, just in case.” Kip tells them.

 

Tad nods, but Lela looks skeptical. “Kip, Lia and Clya will be angry if you go off alone.”

 

Kip looks at her and puts her hand on her shoulder. “I do think they are telling the truth, Lela, but you understand how I must be sure, right?” Kip asks.

 

“Of course, cousin.” She says with an understanding smile. “You know I won’t be able to convince Rya not to come looking.” She adds.

 

“You must try.  I want him there at the colony... in case..."  She leaves the thought unfinished as she sees both of them understand.  She hugs them both and gives them a proud smile. “I’ll see you guys in a few hours.”

 

“Okay, Kip.” They reply in unison.

 

She helps them repack the sled and watches as they get back on the sled trail for a few moments. She then turns her attention to the alpha males.

 

“Alright, let’s go get your gear.” She says, grabbing Micah’s rifle and tucking it under her arm. The men nod and lead the way.

 

…

 

Rya watches his two cousins from the watchtower, his lips pursed. “Where’s Kip?” He mumbles to himself as he makes his way down the ladder.

 

He opens the gate and walks towards them, looking behind them. Lela’s the first to speak when she sees her alpha cousin’s confused expression.

 

“We ran into a couple of alpha males…” She starts, only to put her hand up when Rya becomes upset.

 

“She’s fine! They were traveling to warn colonies of an impending danger.” She says, knowing she’s fudging the truth a bit, but she doesn’t want Rya to worry. Not more than she is, at least. But she trusts Kip’s judgment. She has to.

 

“So where are they then?” He asks, stepping closer, looking at Tad who has been silent.

 

“They needed help with their gear. Kip sent us on. It shouldn’t be too long.” Tad interjects and Lela looks at him with slight relief.

 

Rya looks at them for a long moment. “Well, I’ll head out that way, see if they need help.” He says and begins to trot back to get his bow and arrow.

 

“No need!” Lela says abruptly, heeding Kip’s words to keep Rya at the colony, just in case.

 

He turns and stares at the two. “What is going on?” He says, losing patience with the alpha pups.

 

“Nothing. She knew you’d want to go to her, she said for you to stay. She’ll be back soon.” Lela says with as much conviction as she can muster.

 

Rya looks down the trail, thinking. He’s torn between going after his sister and trusting she’ll be okay. “She said specifically for me to stay? How close is this danger?” He asks, coming around to the strangers his sister is off with.

 

“Group of outsiders. Armed with guns. Taking what they want from colonies. They are headed this way.” She says as Tad opens his pack and pulls out the newsprint Kip had given him.

 

Rya takes it and reads it over. “Go tell San to take watch and tell her what you told me.” He says and takes off at a jog, heading to Elder Clya’s.


	22. It's a Good Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY, things are settling down. Here is the last chapter in the first part of my lil Kip and Lia series. I hope you enjoy. A tiny cliffhanger to end this part, but nothing too harrowing. And yes, there is the impending showdown with the outsiders to be dealt with as well...
> 
> Let me know if you are still enjoying the story and would still like me to continue and what you'd like to see! I do apologize for the long wait. It should be a lot better from here on out...

Lia starts awake and immediately notices that it is dark outside. “Kip?” She calls out and when no one answers, she works her way out of bed, nearly sweating at the effort.

 

She pads into the main living area and sees no sign of her. She begins to put on her coat after slipping on her winter slippers, determined to find out where her mate is.

 

She hears a knock on her door as she finishes buttoning her coat and waddles over to open it.

 

“Rya?” Lia says, her face automatically set with worry at the sight of Kip’s brother. “Where’s Kip?” She asks slowly.

 

“Kip will be here shortly. She’s meeting with Elder Clya right now. They ran into some alpha men while hunting who had some news about some nearby colonies and they are discussing it. She wanted me to come let you know she’ll be home in a little while.” He gives her a small grin that falters a bit when he realizes she looks like she’s ready to go out.

 

“Were you going somewhere?” He asks, remembering she should be on bed rest.

 

“I woke up and Kip wasn’t here. She was supposed to be home hours ago.” She says with a bit of annoyance.

 

“Well, she’ll be home soon. You want me to stay until she returns?” He asks, a little uneasy.

 

She smiles at him, knowing he’d rather be anywhere else than with his sister’s very pregnant and cranky mate.

 

“No, that’s okay. I’ll just head back to bed. Thanks for letting me know, Rya.” She says and they bid each other goodnight.

 

 

Lia is propped up in bed reading when Kip finally comes in. She listens as she comes through the door in her stocking feet, puts her coat on the hook and puts a kettle on. A few seconds later she appears at the bedroom door, exhaustion evident, but smiles brightly at her mate.

 

“Sorry I’m so late. Ran into a couple of alphas who are displaced and was helping Clya get them settled.” She says as she crosses the room to sit on the bed next to Lia’s hip. She leans in and gives her a kiss and Lia puts her hands to her cold cheeks.

 

“Why don’t you take a warm bath and I’ll get you your tea.” Lia says, making a move to slip out of bed.

 

“Oh, no, you stay put. I’ll get us both some tea and then I’ll take a bath.” She says, putting a hand on her mate’s belly. Her eyes widen with glee when she feels a foot, or maybe a hand push out at her palm.

 

“Wow!” She exclaims softly and moves her hand around, chuckling when it happens again.

 

Lia, puts her hand on Kip’s to still it, giving her an amused look. “They are excited to meet you, that’s for sure. Go on and get us some tea so you can go warm yourself up.” She gently commands Kip who smiles and presses a quick kiss to her stomach.

 

Once they’ve had some tea and a quick bite and Kip takes a quick bath and then fills Lia in on Cal and Micah’s story (sans the marauding outsiders for now), they settle down for bed. Lia can only sleep on her side with a large down pillow under her belly now so Kip slides in behind her, wrapping a protective arm around her middle.

 

The pups continue to move around for a while until finally settling down, allowing their mother to do the same and within a few minutes the mates are softly snoring away.

 

…

 

The next two weeks Kip stays in colony. She knows Lia can go into labor at any moment, so she wants to make sure she is no more than five minutes away when she does.

 

When she’s not at home or at her shop, she spends time with Cal and Micah, getting to know them and helping Elder Clya find their place in the colony. It isn’t a hard task, Cal is trained in colony defense and although he cannot be vetted as a magistrate for the colony yet, his skill set and knowledge of the looming outsider threat makes him an asset already. Micah is a skilled woodworker and quickly finds work alongside Clint, the senior woodworker for the colony.

 

She also fills Lia in on what Cal and Micah had told her when Lia could sense something was bothering her mate.

 

_“I can tell you have something heavy on your mind, alpha.” Lia says one morning when she wakes and sees Kip staring lying on her back, her head turned, staring out the window._

_“There’s a small army of outsiders, going around the countryside, colony to colony, taking what they please. They are armed with guns as well. Cal and Micah told us about them when we encountered them out hunting. We’re talking about mounting a joint offensive with the neighboring colonies before they reach our area.” Kip tells her, stone faced. She doesn’t want her expression to betray how really scared she is. In her 19 years, she’s only heard about such things happening. Now it appears it will be at their doorstep, but when, they don’t know._

_Lia takes in the information with an equally grim look and reaches over to gently tangle her fingers in Kip’s long hair. “Will my family’s colony be involved?” She asks, though she can guess the answer._

_“Yes. We are scheduled to meet with them and a few others in a week, here.” She replies, turning to face her mate._

_“We will take care of them, between all of us.” Kip adds with an assuring voice. Lia already knows without question that Kip will do whatever it takes to make sure she and their pups are safe. It comforts her, but also frightens her beyond measure._

_“I know you will.” Lia says solemnly tugging gently at her hair now beckoning her to come closer, effectively taking both of their minds off the impending threat to their rather peaceful lives._

Kip smiles when she sees who is in Elder Booth’s contingent from New Dakota. She walks over, eagerly taking Chase’s arm with a happy nod.

 

“It’s good to see you.” He says as he beams at her as well. “How is my sister?” He asks.

 

“She’s doing well, but pretty cranky. Due any time now.” She reports proudly.

 

“Well, I would love to see her when we are done here.” He replies as they turn to make their way to the meeting house.

 

“I know she’d love to see you.” She says and asks about the rest of her mate’s family as they walk.

 

…

 

“Lia, you have a visitor.” Kip says lightly as she opens the bedroom door. Her eyes widen in shock when she sees Lia doubled over, her arm and head on the bed, panting in pain.

 

“LIA!” She shouts and turns to Chase who is right behind her. “Go get Elder Clya, next to the clinic!” She tells him frantically and he stands stunned for only a fraction of a second before taking off at a run.

 

“What can I do?” Kip asks as she goes to her struggling mate.

 

“Just…. Hold my hand..” She gasps out as her face contorts in pain as the contraction hits.

 

“Yes… Of course.” Kip says as she reaches a hand under Lia’s on the bed and rubs her lower back. Lia begins to breathe somewhat normally after a few seconds and then starts to stand up. Sweat is dripping from her forehead.

 

“How long have you been like this?” Kip asks as she helps her to lie down on the bed.

 

“About thirty minutes now. I got up to go to the bathroom when my water broke and made it this far when the contractions started getting a lot worse and closer together.” She gets out as she continues to work on her breathing.

 

“Your brother was coming to visit you. I sent him to get Clya.” Kip says as she pulls the pillows from her side and puts them under her mate’s shoulders.

 

“My brother?” Lia asks, eyes wide.

 

“Yes, Chase. He came with Elder Booth.” Kip answers as she sets about trying to make Lia as comfortable as possible. She runs to the bathroom getting a basin of water and cloth and returns just as another contraction hits.

 

“Whew, they are coming fast.” Kip says worriedly, remembering what she’d overheard Clya tell Lia about when the day comes.

 

She puts her hand out for Lia to hold and grimaces at the grip the Omega has on her fingers. She won’t dare complain though. She knows that the pain is just beginning for her beloved.

 

She hears the door clatter open and a few seconds later Clya comes in with the midwife, Sari, and her assistant. They move about the room getting everything ready, finally helping Lia to raise up so they can put some waterproof blankets down under her.

 

The midwife comes in and checks Lia’s cervix and sees she’s pretty much ready to deliver.

 

“Okay, Lia, have Kip help you put this gown on. It will be easier to help you get into position if we have something to help hold you up with.” Sari says, giving Kip a simple knee-length linen gown that has two simple ties in the front.

 

“Kip, I’ll be giving you the first pup and you’ll need to hold him up on your chest for warmth while we deliver the others.” She reminds the alpha who quickly shucks her shirt and undershirt and slips down into her underwear briefs. The assistant, a young Omega, looks at her for a second and Kip could swear she heard Lia growl at her. She stifles a small, amused grin as she gets into position to help Lia squat.

 

“Alright, Lia, before the next contraction hits, Clya and Kip are going to help you get into position. Once in it and you feel that contraction, push until I tell you not to.” Sari instructs and both Kip and Lia nod.

 

“You ready, sweetheart?” Kip asks and Lia turns to her, head matted with sweat already. She gives her a wane smile as Kip grips her shoulder and elbow, helping her squat.

 

“I guess I have to be.” She manages as she grunts her way into position. Almost immediately a contraction hits and Sari readies a clean blanket and gets under Lia to help guide the pup out.

 

“Argh!” Lia grunts loudly, squeezing Clya and Kip’s hands as she bares down. The two alphas are literally holding her up as she concentrates on breathing between pushes. In a matter of seconds, the shoulders are out and the little pup slips right out and Sari quickly pulls him clear and instructs Kip and Clya to ease Lia down onto her back.

 

“Here are the scissors, Kip.” Sari says with a wide smile as the assistant hands them over. She cuts the cord and immediately hands the pup over to Kip who cradles him on her chest like she was instructed.

 

Lia takes a moment to look at the two, a tired but joyful smile on her face.

 

“A boy, huh?” She laughs weakly and Kip nods turning to show Lia his little face that is nestled between her breasts.

 

“Alright, Mara, take the little one and put him in the warmer while we get these other ones delivered.” Sari instructs her assistant. She approaches Kip with a shy smile as Kip reluctantly takes the pup from her chest and puts him gingerly into Mara’s arms.

 

While Sari checks the second pup to make sure it is in the correct position to be delivered.

 

Kip doesn’t even bother wiping off the afterbirth from her chest as she takes hold of her mate again, kissing her forehead before helping her back up.

 

“You are doing amazing.” Kip whispers in her ear as another contraction rips through her. She gasps this time before giving a solid push, delivering the head with one push and then the shoulders with another. She’s crying out in pain at this point and Kip is having a hard time not wanting to lie her down and comfort her.

 

“One more beloved, one more.” She says gently.

 

They repeat the same steps, Kip cutting the cord and receiving the baby, another boy, and resting him on her chest as Lia takes a rest as well.

 

Kip turns to her and is pressed against her shoulder with the second pup between them. He’s smaller than the first by a bit, but is nice and pink and crying loudly.

 

“They’re so beautiful, Lia.” She coos as Lia brings her hand up to touch his hairy, dark head as he begins to quiet down.

 

“They look like me.” She reasons with a cheeky, exhausted smile making Kip laugh. Her chest moves the pup and he renews his whimpering.

 

“Okay, Lia, the last one feels like she’s in position. You ready?” Sari asks as she pats her significantly smaller belly gently.

 

“Yes.” She says as Mara takes over for Kip, helping Lia into position. Kip retrieves the first pup and reclines on the bed next to Clya, holding both boys on her chest to keep them warm.

 

The last one is delivered just like the first two and this one, a girl, is set on Lia’s chest as Sari cuts her cord.

 

“You took your herbs for coagulation?” Sari asks as she prepares for the placenta delivery.

“She did.” Kip answers readily and the omegas all look at her. “What? I pay attention.” Kip defends while the Omegas chuckle. She shrugs and looks at the only other Alpha in the room for support. She laughs as well.

 

“Well, here we go, last step and then we’ll get everyone cleaned up.” She says with a grin.

 

 

About an hour later, the exponentially bigger family is resting on the bed. Lia has the little girl and the smaller boy, smiling down at them as they get the hang of nursing.

 

Kip has the bigger boy on her chest and when he begins rooting around, she hesitantly brings him to her breast. He latches on and soon appears to be feeding.

 

The look on her face is absolutely priceless and Lia watches, committing it to memory, trying not to giggle. It is adorable and sweet, but doesn’t want the big alpha to feel self-conscious.

 

“You are going to be an amazing matra, you know that?” Lia says, her tone full of love and adoration.

 

Kip tears her eyes away from her son breastfeeding to look at her mate, eyes shining with so much love and joy.

 

“I hope to be. I’m so in love with them already.” She says, leaning over to give her mate a kiss. She pulls away and looks at the three and then to her mate.

 

“You are so beautiful and brave and just…” She stops, at a loss for words, her emotions bubbling up. “I can’t wait to raises these pups with you.” She finally gets out.

 

“Well, it’s a good start.” Lia smiles slyly and Kip just looks at her slack-jawed, mind boggled at how this woman can even think of more after what Kip just saw her go through.

 

“But for now, perhaps we should name these three?” Lia giggles as she reaches over to poke her mate’s chest playfully.

 

Fin


End file.
